The Father, The Daughter, And The Bride
by Northern-Southern Belle
Summary: Her father's engagement to Christine creates a lot of stress for Selina and Elijah, which they solve with drinking and some bdsm. Her mother also struggles with the news, and finds comfort in the arms of Selina's Uncle Andrew, who she's liked for many years, although she's struggled to admit it, mending fences with both him and her daughter. Crossover with In The Devil's Lair.
1. With This Ring

**Disclaimer: Only plot and original characters belong to me.**

"You know," Matthew said to Christine as they watched an old movie with a couple getting married at the end. "I really think we've waited long enough. Would you like to get married to me?"

"Well, yes!" Christine smiled. "I sure wouldn't wanna marry anyone else. Are you officially asking now? I just want to be sure."

"Yes," Matthew nodded and got down on one knee. "I am officially asking you to marry me now. I know I don't have a ring, but I would rather you choose one that fits you then just throwing a diamond at you. Unless that's what you want."

"No," Christine shook her head. "Not really. I'd love to pick a ring out myself, though. When should we go?"

"Well, it's a bit late now," Matthew pointed out, as the clock read nearly eleven in the evening. "Why don't we go tomorrow?"

"All right," Christine nodded. "I would love that."

They finished the rest of the movie and then Christine yawned, so Matthew took her hand, led her to her room, and tucked her in.

"I can't wait until we're married," she told him as she brought his head down to kiss him. "I really don't like sleeping alone all that much."

Just be patient," Matthew told her and took her hand. "It won't be too much longer to wait, I promise."

"It better not be," Christine smiled.

Matthew kissed her one last time, told her goodnight, and then turned off her light before going to his room to change into his pajamas and go to bed as Christine pulled the blankets over her head and dreamed of the day she'd finally be sharing a bed with him.

* * *

"Okay, what should I pick today?" Selina asked Elijah the next day as they headed to the jewelry store. "Should I add to my ever-expanding ring collection, or get a necklace, or-so many options!" She put her palms on the case and stared down into it where all the really fancy rings lay.

"You go ahead and look," the proprietor said as he gazed over her shoulder. "I have some business to take care of…someone to toss out."

Elijah turned to see what he was talking about and then told Selina as he leaned in real close, "Your father and Christine just showed up. He's wearing jeans, and I think he's about get thrown out."

"Oh, good lord," Selina said and stood up straight. "You wanna handle this, or should I? Why do you think they're here?"

"Go ahead," Elijah replied. "It doesn't matter to me. As for why they're here, it's probably for a reason you don't want to think about."

"You're right," Selina replied with a nod. "But because I'm a good sport, I'll go over and talk to them anyway."

So she strode over to Christine and Matthew, interceding just as the owner reached them. "This is my father," she told the man. "Be nice to him."

"Oh, all right," the owner said, the gel in his hair shining in the light as he stepped away from Matthew, his cheeks coloring a bit. "Anything you say, Mrs. Mikaelson."

He then gestured at Matthew and Christine. "Come over to the counter," he said. "What can I get for you today?"

"We're looking for an engagement ring, actually," Matthew replied. "She's choosing, so give her every option you have."

"Are you sure?" The man asked, eyebrows rising. "Even the ones you can't afford?"

Selina then stood back and watched her father handle the situation. The proprietor hadn't yet grasped that her father was a hell of a lot richer than he looked, and she was eager to see his reaction when her father proved it.

"Oh, I promise you," Matthew told the man, a strained smile on his face now. "I can afford whatever you show her. Just do it, please."

The man still looked doubtful, but put out all the rings he could find.

Christine finally picked a silver ring with a large aquamarine in it and tiny diamonds around the band. As the man rang it up and chuckled to himself at the final amount, Matthew, completely undeterred, asked Christine for her purse from which he pulled out a wallet that was just bursting with money. Even Selina was surprised by it and she _knew_ what he was worth.

As the shocked proprietor watched, he began laying out hundred dollar bills on the counter until the bill was paid in full.

"Thank you for your help," Matthew told him with a smile as he took the ring and slipped it on Christine's finger and took his wallet back. "You have a good day now."

"Wow, Daddy," Selina said as she followed after them. "That was impressive. When did you and Christine get engaged, by the way?"

"I know," Matthew nodded. "I'm used to people underestimating me cause I don't dress like the man on the Monopoly box. But then I get the last laugh, so that's always fun. And we got engaged last night. I don't want to hear anything negative about it, all right?"

"Okay, okay," Selina replied. "I won't say anything else other than 'Congratulations'."

"Good," Matthew said firmly. "I'm going to be hearing enough complaints about this from your mother. I don't want to hear about them from you too. I'm sure you have other people to complain to when you need it."

When they reached the entrance of the store, he said to his daughter, "Didn't you come with Elijah? Don't forget about him."

"Oh, right," Selina nodded sheepishly and turned around to face her husband who was patiently waiting by the counter. "See you later."

She headed back to Elijah and he asked, "Did you forget about me?"

"Yeah, sorry," Selina said. "I just got so wrapped up in what Daddy and Christine were doing. But I didn't mean it. Do you forgive me?"

"Of course," Elijah replied and kissed her. "So…has what you feared come to pass?"

"Yes," Selina sighed. "They're engaged. He bought her this ring with a giant aquamarine on it. I might have to stop by Roxie's on the way home."

"Or you could _not_ stop by Roxie's on the way home and just let me buy you things instead," Elijah suggested. "Isn't that a better idea?"

"Fine, but it's gonna take a lot of stuff to make me feel better about this. Are you prepared for that?" Selina asked him.

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "This is the sort of moment I've been preparing for ever since I've known you. So pick out what you want and I'll pay for it. Just make sure you don't pick more than there's room for in the car. That's my only stipulation. Okay?"

"Okay," Selina agreed. "I can deal with that."

* * *

"How are you feeling?" Andrew asked Selina as she tried on her jewelry in the spare bedroom at her house. "Not good? You know, your mother used to buy a lot of things when she was upset."

"This is really pretty," Alice said as she picked up a diamond necklace. "Can I try it on?"

"Sure, go ahead," Selina replied. "If you can do it without disappearing, that is." She'd taken a liking to the perky, good-natured spirit who'd become her uncle's new girlfriend.

"So be honest," Andrew told Selina. "Why did you buy all these things?"

"Because I wanted them," Selina replied. "And it's healthier than drinking. Plus, Daddy came into the jeweler's with Christine and bought her an engagement ring too."

"And there it is," Andrew smiled. "I _thought_ this wasn't just about wanting all this."

"Don't get me wrong," Selina told him. "I _do_ want it. Just maybe not for the healthiest of reasons."

"Well, the way you're dealing with this might not be healthy, but at least you're not hurting anyone," Andrew pointed out. "You're lucky you don't have to be around when your mother hears the news. I'll probably have to be the one that tells her."

"Well, good luck with that," Selina told him.

"Thank you," Andrew replied. "I know I'm gonna need it."

* * *

"What do you _mean_ he's engaged?" Amelia yelled at Andrew, her arms flapping about wildly. "He can't be engaged! You're dating! Who's left?"

"I'm sure there's a whole world of lonely single ghost men out there," Andrew told her. "Go pick one of them. Nothing is stopping you."

"Well, I don't want _them_!" Amelia cried. "I don't want any random man off the street. I want…I want…" She stared into Andrew's eyes and then stopped short.

"Go on," Andrew encouraged. "What do you want? Who do you want? You can say it."

"No, I can't!" Amelia shook her head. "And I think it's really cruel of you to try and make me when you _know_ that. When you know that I want you, but I can't-" She gasped, put a hand over her mouth, and disappeared, leaving Andrew alone and just as surprised as she was.


	2. Pass Around The Bottle

"Would you like to stop by your mother's and tell her the good news?" Matthew asked Christine. "I mean, I would completely understand if you don't, but I just thought I'd put the option out there."

"No, I don't think I want to tell her," Christine replied as she stared at her ring. "I mean, I will sometime, of course, but I don't think I'm ready."

"Okay, that's fine," Matthew nodded. "You know, I was worried about how Selina would handle things, but she seems to be doing pretty well."

"I was surprised by her attitude too," Christine agreed. "But she's probably being so good about this because she just wants you to be happy."

"Oh, I hope so," Matthew replied. "I want her to know that I'm not doing this to torture her or make her miserable. I'm doing it because you make me happy and I want to be with you."

"Yeah," Christine smiled and kissed him. "I love you too." She paused. "Now that we've done all that mushy stuff, you want to have more lessons about how to work the computer?"

"All right," Matthew nodded.

In an attempt to modernize him, they'd gone to the store and bought him a computer with internet, which Christine was now showing him. She was surprised by how much he enjoyed it, especially sites where he could buy things.

"Are we going to do Ebay again?" Christine asked.

"Yes we are," Matthew said, grinning widely. "I found something I really wanna buy."

"Oh?" Christine asked with interest. "And just what is that?"

Matthew got on the site and called up the item. "Ta-da!" He said, smiling widely as he showed her. It was an actual buffalo skull that someone was selling. It cost more than she thought Matthew would be willing to spend, especially on something that was so useless.

"Well that's…interesting," Christine finally got out. "It would match well with the rug and the couple mounted deer heads you have around here. But what would you _do_ with it?"

"I think it would be a fantastic conversation piece," Matthew told her. "And we can use it as a decoration for the holidays, decorating it accordingly with the appropriate colors. I think it's a great idea!" He then began to bid furiously and finally, the skull was his. He lay back against the chair looking smug. "Who's the boss?" He asked. "I think it's me."

"Well, I'm glad you found something you like," Christine got out and went to play with Jack while wondering if maybe she shouldn't have shown him the internet after all.

* * *

"All right, what's the problem now?" Charlotte asked Amelia warily after she drifted through the wall of Amelia's bedroom. "And the other question is, why do I keep coming every time you call when I know it will just be more of the same?"

"I don't know," Amelia smiled. "Maybe it's because you love me."

"Well, I don't want anyone to suffer from what you'll if no one will talk to you, that's for sure," Charlotte said. "Now tell me your problem fast. I want to see Damon and Lucy today."

"Matthew is engaged!" Amelia cried dramatically and flopped back on her bed. "Isn't that _awful_? Where does it leave _me_?"

"With Andrew," Charlotte replied. "I mean, I know he's showing interest in that Alice girl at the moment, but any fool with eyes can tell he loves you."

"But I can't be with _him_ ," Amelia said, making a face.

"Why not?" Charlotte asked. "He'll make you happy. You deserve that after everything your parents put you through."

"You think?" Amelia asked.

"Yes," Charlotte nodded. "I do. Don't you think that?"

"I don't know," Amelia shrugged. "I mean, he's a gambler, and he up and left me and died, and…I don't know if I can deal with a scoundrel like that."

"Well, I think you're judging him too harshly," Charlotte said. "If I remember, his first wife was much more delicate and vulnerable than you are, and they got along famously."

"That's because she got him on his _good_ behavior," Amelia replied. "And I always seem to get him at his worst. I mean, what kind of man would do what he did to me and then just up and leave?"

"What did he do to you that was so bad?" Charlotte asked. "He helped you take care of your daughter when you were dumb enough to be married to a man who would have killed her in two seconds. He's shown a lot more patience and tolerance for your behavior than many other men would. So tell me. Why do you treat him this way?"

"I can't tell you," Amelia replied. "It's too embarrassing. I'm just glad my parents were dead when it happened cause otherwise I would have been in terrible trouble."

A possible idea of what she was talking about popped into Charlotte's mind, but she decided to spare Amelia having to say it out loud. "And does Andrew know about this…terrible trouble he got you in?" She asked.

"No," Amelia shook her head. "I decided the best way to deal with it was to just get it out of the way and pretend like it never happened. That was the best thing for both of us."

"This is another thing you have to talk to your daughter about," Charlotte replied. "She went through the same thing."

"She did _not_!" Amelia cried. "If she did, I would have known about it and I never heard such a thing."

"Well, perhaps there's a reason she didn't tell you," Charlotte pointed out. "Fear of judgment, maybe? Go talk to her. Do it now. Or would you rather tell Andrew first?"

"There's no way in the _world_ that I'm telling Andrew," Amelia told her. "There's no point. It's in the past." But after Charlotte disappeared, she decided to head to her daughter's house with the goal of chatting with her. However, if her daughter were to be otherwise occupied, it wouldn't bother her too much. There were always other times to chat.

* * *

"So your stepfather is about to become your stepson," Selina said to Elijah as she sat next to him at the kitchen table, beer bottle in hand. "How does that make you feel?"

"I'm not quite sure," Elijah replied. "I think I might need that beer bottle before I answer."

She handed him the bottle and he took several swigs before he realized it was empty. "Sorry," he apologized as he put it on the table. "I didn't mean to finish it."

"It's all right," Selina assured him. "I'll just get another one." She grabbed another bottle and got it open with quick pull of a bottle opener before sitting down. "Okay, now answer the question: How do you feel about my father becoming your son-in-law?"

"You know, I thought it was weird when Gregory started sleeping with Katherine but this…this is a million times worse than that," Elijah said and then leaned against Selina for a bit. "Can I have that bottle please?"

"No, you drank my last one," Selina said as she held it out of his grip and he fell out of his chair trying to reach for it. "Get your own."

"Relationships are supposed to be about sharing, you know," Elijah said. "Not just taking everything for yourself."

"I shared," Selina reminded him. "That's why I had to get a new bottle."

This was the scene that Amelia came upon when she arrived at her daughter's house. It shocked her because she'd always been under the impression that her son-in-law was the type who would keep her daughter in line and not allow such foolish and undignified behavior as letting her get so drunk that she couldn't even stand up. But as she looked at them now, she wondered how true that assessment was.

After she reached for yet another bottle, Amelia zapped it out of her hand and sent it smashing against the wall.

"What the hell was that?" Elijah asked. "That bottle just flew out of your hand and against the wall. I must be drunker than I thought. I'm starting to see things."

"I know," Selina agreed as Amelia made herself visible. "It's usually supposed to be pink elephants or something, right? But my mother is a nice change." She hiccupped. "And of course she's frowning. What a surprise." Even in her drunken state, Selina prepared herself for Amelia's reprisal, but to her surprise, it wasn't her that faced her mother's wrath. It was Elijah.

He was hoisted to his feet and then pulled upward so his feet dangled a few inches above the floor. He then began to make a choking noise as Amelia, her teeth bared, said "You are not the sort of man I want around my daughter. I thought you were, but you're just as awful as the rest of them and she deserves better than you. Get out of my sight. You're disgusting." She then dropped Elijah on the floor and gave a disdainful sniff before disappearing.

"What the hell just happened?" He groaned as Selina clumsily helped him to his feet.

"I think you made a very bad impression on my mother," Selina replied. "Wanna get some rest after getting raked over the coals like that?"

"Yes, please, I think," Elijah replied. Then he noticed the mess of beer bottles on the kitchen floor. "We should clean these up first," he slurred. He began to pick them up, but lost his grip on one and it fell to the floor and broke. He tried picking up the pieces, but cut his hand, and after he swore, Selina took it and began licking the wound gently, a wicked gleam in her eyes. "You taste so good," she smiled.

"Do I really?" Elijah asked. "Well, let's go to our room and maybe I'll let you have more."

"What about the messy kitchen?" Selina wanted to know.

"Oh, don't worry about it," Elijah said dismissively after cleaning up the broken bits of bottle. "We can clean it up later."


	3. The Lost Guest At The Wedding

" _It was so nice of my brother to decide to have his wedding at our parents' house so we could come, isn't it?" Matthew asked, smiling at Amelia. "If they'd had it at Abigail's parents' house like they'd planned, we wouldn't have been able to attend, given your condition and all."_

" _Yes," Amelia said. "That would have been such a tragedy." Despite the smile she was putting on for Matthew, she had no desire to attend his brother's wedding. Between the discomfort of her pregnancy and the fact that the wedding would involve her watching the love of her life marry someone else, it wasn't going to be a good day. But, just as her mother had told her to, she put her feelings aside, gave Matthew a smile, and let him help her down the stairs as they made their way to her in-laws' house on a breezy, warm day in May while trying not to think that in just a matter of time, her life would be more empty than it was before. Was it her fault? Yes. But that didn't make it hurt any less._

 _They reached Matthew's parents and were greeted at the door by a servant. "Miss Jane says that she wants to see you," the maid told Matthew with a curtsey. "Should I go tell her you're here?"_

" _If you would, that would be nice," Matthew nodded. "Thank you."_

" _I think I need to sit down," Amelia said. She was beginning to feel a little dizzy, which was something she'd hoped would have ended after the first three months._

 _Matthew hurried to get her some water and held her hand while she drank it._

" _Is everything all right, you two?" His aunt Jane asked as she approached them. "I should have sent a carriage to bring you. In this weather, it's really not wise for Amelia to be moving around so much in her condition."_

" _Thank you," Amelia replied, her tone biting. "Your concern is kind, but really, I'm fine. Just a little tired is all. If I have legs and am fully capable of using them, I shall."_

 _Jane, who was Matthew's late mother's sister, just gave Amelia a huff and stomped off, muttering about bad manners._

" _You know she's probably going to tell your mother what you just said, right?" Matthew asked._

" _Well, frankly, I don't care," Amelia replied. "I know she means well, but she's trying to deprive me of what little independence I have. If I want to be coddled, then I'll ask for it."_

 _To her relief, the next person they saw was her friend Charlotte, who had her young son by the hand._

" _Hello, Miss Amelia," Damon said with a smile and handed Amelia a flower. "How are you today?"_

" _Much better, thank you," Amelia told him in a much friendlier tone as she took the flower (undoubtedly taken from one of the table centerpieces) and sniffed it. "You look very handsome today, Damon."_

" _Thank you," the little boy said, a slight blush coloring his cheeks, even though his blue eyes were bright. "Mama said that too."_

" _Well, she was right," Amelia told him._

" _It was then that Matthew noticed Andrew coming out of one of the rooms. "You wouldn't mind if I leave you to go talk to my brother, would you?" He asked her. "I'm sure you'd much rather talk to Charlotte anyway."_

" _Yes," Amelia nodded. "You go ahead and talk to your brother. I'll be all right."_

 _Charlotte watched him go and then asked Amelia, "Are you really all right? I'm very surprised you showed up here today. I came with Damon because Giuseppe had to work, but you...you being here really surprises me."_

" _Well, I couldn't very well refuse to go, could I?" Amelia asked. "Even if I_ had _told Matthew I didn't feel well enough to come, he would have just insisted on staying home with me. And I couldn't very well tell him 'I want to skip your brother's wedding because I'm in love with the groom and hate the idea of watching him marry someone else'. That would be horribly wrong."_

" _I know," Charlotte told her. "But if you find that watching them wed is too much for you, you can claim a headache and I'll take you away until it's all over."_

" _Thank you," Amelia told her and squeezed her hand. "Whatever would I do without you?"_

" _It frightens me to think," Charlotte replied dryly._

* * *

 _Eventually, it was time for the wedding and Amelia did remarkably well, even tolerating Andrew's fiancée Abigail, with her bright green eyes, sweet face, and long blonde hair, going down the aisle while everyone muttered compliments in adoration. But it was just before the priest asked for reasons why those two should not be wed that Amelia whispered to Charlotte that she had to leave, grateful that Matthew was standing next to his brother and wouldn't be able to question her actions._

" _I knew this was coming," Charlotte whispered and then, after leaving Damon with Amelia's brother and his wife, took Amelia out into the hallway where they couldn't hear the priest's voice. "You lasted much longer than I thought you would. I'm very proud of you."_

" _Thank you," Amelia replied. "You know, my mother said the same thing today. About how she pitied poor Abigail for the life she's stuck with because of marrying someone as unreliable as Andrew, and how proud she was of me for doing the right thing, marrying his brother, and bearing his brother's children. She's been a lot kinder to me since I told her I was expecting."_

" _Well and why not?" Charlotte scoffed. "In her mind, you're fulfilling your purpose as a woman."_

" _I'm hungry," Amelia told her. "Can we find someone to give me something to eat?" It was then that several men came by carrying the wedding cake. "That looks good," she said and began following them._

" _No, no," Charlotte said and grabbed her. "That's not for you. Not yet."_

" _Oh, you're right," Amelia replied and then they went to talk to the butler to make sure she was well-fed._

 _After that was done, they headed to the reception because although Amelia didn't want to face Abigail there either, she had to or people would talk._

 _She spoke to Abigail very little, and then as the bride took on other congratulations, Andrew excused himself and followed Amelia._

" _You can't be mad about me for this, you know," he told her. "It never would have worked between us. Your mother never would have let it. And you can't expect me to live like a monk."_

" _No, of course not," Amelia replied. "I hope you and your…wife are very happy."_

" _Thank you," Andrew replied. "And can I ask why you left during the vows? Are you all right?"_

" _I wasn't feeling well then, but I'm better now," Amelia told him, her voice curt. "You best be getting back to your wife now. It wouldn't be right for her to feel abandoned on her wedding day."_

" _Yes," Andrew nodded, although his dark eyes were still full of concern for Amelia. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before going back to Abigail just as Matthew came to take Amelia's arm and lead her back to the wedding festivities. Surrendering to fate, Amelia pasted a smile on her face while trying not to think about how the sixteenth of May in the year 1846 was the last day she'd ever really be happy. Or at least it seemed that way._

* * *

"Are you all right?" Andrew asked Amelia as he found her in her room looking like she was about to cry. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Amelia said. "It's just that today is a bad day for me, that's all."

"What makes it different from all the others?" Andrew wanted to know.

"Don't you mock me!" Amelia cried. "This is why I don't tell you anything! Cause you turn all of it into a joke."

"I didn't mean to do that," Andrew told her and gently stroked her arm. "Please, tell me what the problem is."

"I was just thinking about your wedding," Amelia told him. "Of the day you married Abigail."

"You remember that?" Andrew asked in amazement. "How? Why?"

"Well, I was pregnant with Selina then, so it was uncomfortable for that reason," Amelia sighed. "And…who could forget watching the very thing that showed you that you made a big mistake with your life?"

"Oh, come on now," Andrew told her. "Marrying my brother wasn't _all_ bad. You got Selina out of it."

"Yes," Amelia nodded. "I suppose you have a point. And perhaps I _am_ being a little over dramatic. Matthew and I did have some good times before he went off to war and never came back. But once he was gone, it just reminded me again of what I missed out on. That's why I finally swallowed my pride and began relying on you and Abigail so much."

"And that was good," Andrew said. "Cause really, she insisted. She was so afraid of what Robert Pierce would do if Selina was put in his presence for any length of time, and frankly, I agree with that."

"Well, isn't that just wonderful?" Amelia asked, her eyes narrowed. "Who is she to judge when she didn't have any children herself? What makes her so much better than me?"

"She _wanted_ to have children," Andrew said. "In fact, it was the children that killed her. She made it through the first miscarriage, but then died delivering the twins. And they didn't live too long after that."

"Well, isn't it a shame that such a wonderful woman was so weak?" Amelia looked at him smugly. "Yet I managed to make it through a pregnancy without trouble _and_ it was during a full moon, which made added stress for me. You _really_ picked the right woman, Andrew."

"Yes," Andrew nodded, grabbing her and giving her a shake. "Between Abigail and you, I really think I did too. I really have to thank your mother for thinking I wasn't good enough. Saved me years of headaches and pain."

"I can say the same!" Amelia shouted when he let her go. "You're no prize either! In fact, I'm glad you ran off and got yourself shot so I didn't have to deal with you anymore!"

"No, you aren't," Andrew told her. "You can put up a front and pretend all you want…but you're sad that I died. It affected you. And the sooner you admit that to yourself, the happier you'll be." He disappeared and Amelia, realizing she was alone, scoffed.

"Maybe you're right," she got out. "But there's no way I'd tell _you_ that."

* * *

"Did the school day seem really long to you?" Elijah asked Selina. "My god, I wish it was summer again so there wouldn't be any work to interfere with our drinking."

"I agree, but remember that work gives us money to buy alcohol," Selina reminded him. "That's a good thing, isn't it?"

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "I suppose it is."

They sat down at the kitchen table and Selina said, "If you and I are drinking this much _before_ Daddy and Christine get married, I wonder how hammered we'll be on the day of the wedding?"

"Hopefully enough that they won't invite us," Elijah said.

"Now really," Selina said. "That's not nice. It's bad enough that Christine's got a drunken whore for a mother who'll probably bail on her. We need to be the bigger people."

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "That would be nice of us. And we'll be rewarded with good wine at the end of the reception so…"

"We're going to the wedding?" Selina asked.

"Yep," Elijah nodded and got out a bottle of wine. "We're going to the wedding."

"Fine," Selina replied. "But I'm not watching the vows."

"No doubt," Elijah agreed and poured himself a glass before drinking it down. "If you were around for the vows, you'd probably ruin everything."

"I'll just fake a sick headache," Selina said and held out her glass. "That'll be good."

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "I think it will too."

After Selina had had a few glasses, the phone rang. Selina answered it and her father said, "Have you been drinking?"

"Maybe a little, in celebration of your engagement," Selina replied. "Elijah and I are coming to the wedding, you know."

"Good," Matthew replied. "We'd be glad to have you there. Just don't be drinking the day of, all right? We're already worried about your mother causing a spectacle. I don't want to have to worry about you too."

Selina then blew a raspberry into the phone and hung up.

"Well, that was polite," Elijah remarked.

"Daddy said he was worried about me causing a spectacle at the wedding," Selina said. "Can you believe the nerve of him to accuse me of such a thing?"

"No, I can't," Elijah replied. "Good for you for hanging up on him. That's the way to go!"

"Yes it is!" Selina agreed. "You wanna pour me another glass? And this would go really well with some of the leftover cake I made in class today, don't you think?"

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "Bring it out."

"All right," Selina smiled. "I will. Just a minute."

"You need help going down the stairs?" Elijah called after her as she went to grab the cake from the garage fridge.

"No, thanks," Selina called. "I'm fine."

But Elijah heard a crash a few minutes later and ran to see what had happened, bursting into laughter when he found Selina face-down in the cake.

"Are you okay?" He asked when he could get his breath.

"Yeah," Selina raised her head and showed him her cake and frosting covered face. "Don't worry," she assured him as she stood up. "The cake's still good. We can still eat it."

"All right," Elijah nodded. "But why don't you let me carry it in, all right?"


	4. The Big Secret

"So Selina and my father are coming to our wedding?" Christine asked. "They decided this? Even though in Selina's case, it might be a tad…awkward?" She wrote their names down on the list and looked doubtfully at her fiancé.

"Yes, that's what Selina said," Matthew shrugged. "I mean, it sounded like she'd been drinking, so you might want to write her name down in pencil, but who knows? She could come, and it could be nice."

"Yeah, especially if we elope first and then have an actual wedding after so neither Amelia nor Selina can ruin things," Christine said. "I mean, I sympathize with their issues, but seriously! I'm sorry if that sounds insensitive, but who would be selfish enough to ruin someone else's wedding?"

"Yes, with Selina feeling the way that she is, and the fact that she's possibly turning to drinking to cope, eloping is beginning to look more and more attractive, even though I didn't like it at first," Matthew agreed. "Because like you say, we can always have another wedding later. It's getting through the ceremony that's the most important thing."

"Yes," Christine nodded. "I suppose it is." She tapped the pencil on the table and then looked at him. "Why don't we just get married right now? I'm sure that if we went to the courthouse, it would only take a few minutes. Why wait any longer? What's the point?"

"All right," Matthew said resolutely. "But…would you mind dressing up first? I know it sounds ridiculous, but-"

"Say no more," Christine replied. "It's not a problem, so you don't need to act like it is." She went and put on a dark green sleeveless dress that stopped just above her knees, a pair of matching ballet flats, and a white cardigan, then brushed out her hair and put a rhinestone comb in it before going out to meet Matthew, who'd dressed in a suit.

"You look very lovely," he commented. "Not overdoing it, but still respecting the gravity of what we're about to do."

"Thanks for noticing," Christine smiled. "That's really what I was going for. You look very handsome yourself." She then gave him a kiss and after that, they were off to the courthouse.

* * *

They were stuck waiting in line for several minutes, which caused Matthew a lot of consternation. "I knew this wouldn't be the romantic thing I hoped, but really…waiting in line like this is ridiculous."

"But what do you suggest we do?" Christine asked. "We can't just force our way to the front."

"Oh, of course we can," Matthew replied. And to Christine's surprise, he pulled her to the front of the line, ignoring the grumbling of the several people who were ahead of them.

"Excuse me, sir," the clerk told him. "You'll have to wait in line just like everyone else and not cut in front of the people who were ahead of you. They want to get married just as much as you do so let's not ruin it for them all."

"I don't normally do this," Matthew told the man, leaning forward a little so they were nearly nose to nose while Christine just stood back and watched with a hint of a smile on her face. "But I have been waiting a long time for this moment. I have gone through years and _years_ of allegiance to a woman who didn't love me, and a daughter who was so crippled emotionally that I had to hold her up without being able to focus on anything else. Now my wife has passed away and my daughter is happily married, and I just…I want to have a little something for myself. I would like to be married to this lovely woman here," he indicated Christine and she took a few steps forward, "and I would like to take her home and feel complete like a man should. Now let's stop wasting everyone's time and do this."

"Yes, sir," the man replied, causing everyone else to groan. So Matthew and Christine were married with two of the more merciful people behind them in line agreeing to be their witness in exchange for being married next.

As they headed out of the courthouse afterwards with Christine holding Matthew's hand tight, she said to him, "That was quite a display you did in there. I didn't know you had it in you."

"Well, I normally don't like pulling rank like that because it's rude, but I just…I couldn't wait any longer." He paused and took Christine in his arms. "You understand that, don't you?"

"Yeah," Christine nodded. "I mean, given your past, who could really blame you? Now, when do we tell Selina?"

"Not for a long time," Matthew replied. "Let's just keep this to ourselves for now."

"All right," Christine nodded. "Whatever you say." They then got in the car and drove home and then once they were inside, Christine smiled wickedly and told him, "Now that we're married, you know what we can do, right?"

Matthew smiled and kissed her, his hands sliding down her body and pulling up the skirt of her dress before he pulled away and took her hand. "Oh, yes, I know," he said. They then headed to his room and locked the door behind them, undressing each other and hitting the mattress with such enthusiasm that even the barking of the dogs from the other side of the bedroom door didn't distract them.

Christine was used to the men she was with taking control in bed, but with Matthew it was different. He was skilled but gentle, and she felt that every touch of his lips to her skin was a way of telling her how glad he was to finally be allowed to do this. That even though he'd been waiting for this as much as she had, he wanted it to be as good for her as it was for him, and _that_ was something she hadn't experienced much of before.

She put her arms around his neck as he kissed hers, using him as an anchor to keep herself stable with every thrust that entered her body. To her surprise, he didn't stop to ask if she was all right with every cry and noise she made. That was good.

"This is good," she panted. "Oh, god, _finally!"_

When they were both panting from exhaustion and laying side by side on the mattress, Christine began to play with his hair while his strong hands roamed over her body. "Was that good for you?" He asked. "I mean, you sounded like you were enjoying yourself immensely, but I wanted to be sure."

"Oh, I was," Christine replied. "Believe me. And what about you? You seemed much more comfortable this time."

"I was," Matthew agreed with this assessment as he kissed her belly button. "Much more comfortable."

Then Christine sat up and took his face in her hands. "I'm so glad we're married," she said. "I love you."

"I feel the same," Matthew replied, taking one of her hands and kissing her fingers one by one. "I love you too."

* * *

As Elijah sat on the sofa flipping through TV channels, the phone rang. And rang. And rang. A high-pitched ring that made his head hurt. "Selina, would you answer the phone and make that damn ringing stop, please?"

"Okay," Selina called back. She then strode up to him a few minutes later, blocking the TV and holding the phone out to him. "Here you go," she said.

"I said 'answer the phone' not 'give it to me so I can talk to the person' Elijah told her irritably and put the remote down.

"It's Margot," Selina told him, removing the pillow and waggling the phone in front of his face. "She needs help with Kol."

"What's my rascal brother done now?" Elijah asked, still not sitting up.

"Something happened with Victoria and it's making him act stupid," Selina replied.

"Well, that's a normal state for him, so I'm not too worried," Elijah told her. "Would you tell Margot I'll be around in a little bit?"

"Sure," Selina replied. She relayed the message and then told him, "I'm gonna get some blood. Would you like some?"

"Yes," Elijah nodded as he got up and went to change into clothes more suitable for going out in public. "I would love some."

"All right, Kol," he told his brother after Margot let him into their house. "What's going on? What have you done now?"

"Well, my granddaughter's been kidnapped by a psycho warlock and apparently, I'm the only one who wants to rescue her cause everyone else thinks I'm insane," Kol replied. "That's why Margot called you over here, isn't it? To try and talk me out of this!"

"Yes," Elijah admitted while Kol called out angrily for his wife. "You didn't have to call for Elijah, you know."

"Yes, I did!" Margot replied. "No one else could talk sense into you! Hell, maybe even _he_ can't do that."

"If the reason why you're worried about him going is because you think he'll be hurt, you don't need to be worried about that," Elijah reminded her.

"No, it's not that I think he'll be hurt," Margot shook her head. "It's just that there's no reason for him to go. Regina's already got it under control, and I'm sure whatever the guy has planned for Victoria, she's handling it masterfully. She _knows_ how to deal with this man who's taken her, and I'm sure that if it became too much, she'd let us know. Your brother is just desperate to cause trouble."

"Of course I am!" Kol replied. "I'm _bored_! It's not like there's much excitement around here anymore!"

"The answer to that is _not_ to go traveling to other dimensions and pick unnecessary fights with people," Margot sighed. "If we put our heads together, I'm sure we can think of something."

"That would be a nice change!" Kol shot back.

"So you're… _not_ going to go pick a fight with this murderous warlock in the other dimension?" Elijah asked. "Because I agree with Margot. I really don't think you should."

"Of course you don't," Kol replied, his eyes narrowed. "I _knew_ you'd side with her." He then got up, grabbed his bat, and stopped at the door, saying to Margot, "Don't wait dinner. I'll probably be full by the time I get back tonight. If I come home at all."

He left and Margot sighed. "The sad thing is, I get where he's coming from. I just don't know what to do about it anymore. We used to be wild and crazy but then…somehow we lost that."

"Well, now that you're both aware of it, I'm sure you'll be able to figure something out," Elijah told her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, I hope so," Margot nodded. "I really do."

Elijah stayed and chatted with her a little longer, and then headed home where Selina was baking again.

"Well, this is certainly a change of pace," he remarked, kissing her and then noticing the cake she was frosting with light pink frosting and a white frosting border on the top. "What do we have here?"

"Champagne cake," Selina replied and licked some frosting off her finger. "Want some frosting?"

"No, thank you," Elijah shook his head.

"All right," Selina replied easily. "More leftover for me. How was Margot?"

"Apparently, she and Kol are having differences of opinion about how to handle the Victoria's kidnapping," Elijah replied. "Kol wants to rush in like the cavalry and rescue her while Regina and Margot reason that since Victoria knows how to handle her kidnapper, it would be best just to let her do it. I know it probably wasn't the best decision to take sides, but…I really think that Kol should stay out of it. Not that telling him so will stop him."

"Right," Selina agreed and stroked his arm. "So let's just watch the whole thing like amused spectators, watching what happens, but not getting involved. I think that would be best."

"Yes, I suppose you're right," Elijah told her and then grabbed the spoon out of the frosting bowl. "Now I think I might just have a little bit of this after all."

"Oh, enjoy as much as you want," Selina encouraged. "I think I made too much anyway."

"What a shocking bit of behavior for you," Elijah grinned. "Always overestimating the amount of frosting or batter you need so you can eat the extra."

"Hey, it's how I roll," Selina shrugged. "I have no regrets."

"Nor should you," Elijah said, finishing off the frosting on the spoon and then dipping it into the bowl for some more.

* * *

Despite Matthew and Christine's goal to keep their marriage private, Matthew eventually told Andrew who then struggled to keep it from Amelia.

"Why do you look so uncomfortable every time you're around me?" Amelia asked as she circled him like a vulture.

"I don't know why you're surprised by that," Andrew said, the tension he felt making the lights in the bedroom flicker. "I thought it was well-known that that was the normal expression I wear around you."

"I'm serious!" Amelia cried. "What are you hiding?"

"I'm not hiding anything," Andrew said. "Now just leave me alone, would you?"

"Fine, keep your secrets," Amelia replied. "I don't care anyway."

"Of course you don't," Andrew rolled his eyes. "People always badger and pester when they don't care about things."

Amelia disappeared then and Andrew let out a sigh of relief. But little did he know his problems were far from over because Amelia decided that if Andrew didn't talk to her, Alice probably would.

When she approached the lively spirit who was playing with some of the guns Matthew had stored away, she said, "I'm surprised you're touching those. Isn't getting shot how you died?"

"Yes, but it's not like they're any danger to me now," Alice pointed out, and then accidentally shot a hole in the wall. "Well, that's enough of that then," she said, looking a bit horrified. But just as she was about to disappear, Amelia stopped her.

"I know we haven't really been friends, but…he's keeping a secret from me and I wonder if you knew what it was," she said.

"Well, if he doesn't want to tell you, it's not any of my business to say a word," Alice replied. "If he wanted you to know, then he'd tell you. I might not even know what you're talking about."

"Oh, but you do," Amelia insisted. "Does it have to do with me?"

"No," Alice said with confidence. "Not everything on Andrew's mind has to do with you." She smiled. "You know, I know why you came to talk to me. You think that I'm some Dumb Dora you can con into giving away everything I know, even though it's none of your beeswax. But that just shows you don't know me at all. Better luck next time."

She disappeared with a smirk on her face and Amelia stomped her foot and swore. A few seconds later, Andrew appeared, grinning broadly. "Alice told me what you just did," he said.

"Yes, I know," Amelia replied. "Why can't you just tell me what's in that thick head of yours?"

"Because it's not something I think you can handle," Andrew replied. "Plus, it's none of your business."

"If it's about me then it certainly _is_ my business," Amelia insisted. "Tell me now!"

"No," Andrew told her firmly. "When the person whose secret it is wants to tell you, they will. Now let it go."

"No," Amelia shook her head. "And nothing you can do will change that."

"Oh, I don't know," Andrew replied, taking Amelia in his arms and kissing her deeply, making her feel more alive than she had felt in years. When the kiss finally ended, Amelia blinked several times and said in a dazed voice, "What were we talking about?"

"Nothing," Andrew said. "Nothing at all."


	5. A Good Reason Not To Drink

"Will you just tell me what happened?" Amelia continued to nag Andrew. "Please? Please? Please?"

"No!" Andrew shook his head. "I promised my brother that he could tell you on his terms and I'm not gonna break that promise."

"Why not?" Amelia asked. "Why would he want to keep something from me?"

"Cause if he told you, you would go insane and ruin everything for him," Andrew replied. "And he deserves some peace before that happens."

"All right," Amelia began pacing around him. "It's something that would make me really mad if I knew about it. What could that be?" She paused and gasped. "I think I've got it! Did he and Christine get married?"

"It's not something I want to tell," Andrew repeated.

"It is, isn't it?" Amelia said. "All you have to do is confirm it, cause I'm fairly certain I'm right."

"Oh, fine," Andrew sighed wearily. "Are you going to ruin things for my brother now?"

"No," Amelia shook her head. "I'm going to check on my daughter first."

"You won't," Andrew said firmly. "If you're worried about her, I'll go and see her. But I don't think she knows if Matthew won't even let me to tell you. Just let them deal with this on their own time and I'm pretty sure everything will work out."

"I don't know if you're right, but if you're gonna check on Selina, I'm going with you."

"Is this you attempting to be a good mother?" Matthew wanted to know. "Or are you just being spiteful?"

"Can't it be a little bit of both?" Amelia asked.

"Why did I bother asking?" Matthew rolled his eyes. "Let's just go and get this over with, all right?"

"All right," Amelia nodded. "Let's go."

* * *

They headed to Elijah and Selina's where she was once again baking with alcohol.

"Why do you feel you need to drink so much?" Amelia asked her as she poured some rum on top of a batch of ladyfingers. "Have you talked to your father lately?"

"Why did you ask that?" Andrew yelled at her. "We need to get into that _gently_."

"Get into _what_ gently?" Selina asked. "I'm just making these because I like ladyfingers and I like rum. No other reason beside that. Unless you have one, of course."

"Your father and Christine got married!" Amelia blurted out as Andrew slapped his forehead. "They eloped and didn't want to tell you. Isn't it a shame that your father no longer seems to respect you and is throwing your relationship away for Christine?"

But Selina completely ignored her mother's attempt to rile her up and turned to face Andrew instead. "Did they really get married?" She asked him. "You can be honest with me. I won't get mad and lash out or anything."

"Yes," Andrew told her after some silence. "Yes, they did. I'm sure he'll tell you soon."

"It doesn't matter when he tells me," Selina replied. "I'm happy for him, I guess. I just…I wish I could be happier for him, you know? I don't know why I can't be, and it's really irritating to me cause it makes me look petty and childish!"

To Andrew's surprise, Amelia hugged Selina then, and said, "Don't blame yourself. It was your father neglecting you when you were a child that makes it difficult for you to be happy for him now. Don't blame yourself. It's not your fault. It's _his_. Do you understand?"

"In a way I do," Selina nodded. "But that still doesn't feel completely right either."

"Well, all right!" Amelia huffed, stepping back and throwing up her hands. "I did all I could to help this. I'm gonna leave now so you can handle it, Andrew."

"I think that's a good idea," Andrew said sharply. "Seeing as how your idea of making this situation better is to drag my brother through the mud while ignoring your own culpability in your daughter's terrible childhood. Of course he made mistakes, but it wasn't all his fault."

Amelia disappeared then and Andrew looked at Selina and heaved a big sigh. "Sorry about that," he said. "Your mother's way of dealing with trouble is to avoid it or blame other people, but you know that already. Are you going to be all right?"

"Yes, thank you, Uncle Andrew," Selina assured him. "You don't have to worry about me. I'll get through this just fine."

"All right," Andrew nodded, giving her a kiss on the cheek that made her whole body cold before he disappeared. Then she turned back to her ladyfingers, took another drink, and stuck the ladyfingers in the oven.

* * *

"Is it all right if I tell Selina that we got married?" Christine asked. "I feel bad keeping it from her."

"You're right," Matthew nodded. "Now that we've had a few days, she should know. I don't want her to find it out from someone else."

So they got in Matthew's car and rode to Selina and Elijah's, knocking on the door and waiting for them as they squeezed each other's hands and waited nervously for someone to come answer the door.

Selina opened it and graciously invited them in. After they got snacks, Matthew took Selina in his arms and said, "I have to tell you something, and I hope it won't upset you, because that's not my intention. Please know that."

"What is it?" Selina asked.

"Christine and I are married," Matthew said and then waited for her reaction.

Selina was silent for a few seconds and then said, "Well congratulations. I'm glad you finally were able to do something to make yourself happy. And I…I suppose I understand why you waited to tell me."

"Good," Matthew said and let out his breath. "Good."

"And you're taking this news remarkably well," Christine remarked. "We're proud of you."

"What?" Selina said, sitting up fast. "You're proud of me? Like I'm some child that needs a pat on the head and a cookie? You are _not_ allowed to talk to me like that! You're not my mother! I don't have to listen to anything you say, or accept anything you do! Hell, I don't even listen to her when my mother says things either." She scoffed. "You invite someone into your home in the spirit of friendship and then what do they do? They go out of their way to make you look like an idiot!"

"But that's not what I-" Christine began before Matthew interrupted her. "I wouldn't say anything else if I were you, even if you _do_ mean well."

"All right," Christine nodded. "I think I'll go home and take the dogs for a walk while you smooth things over here."

"Yes," Matthew nodded and got up to go catch his daughter. "That might be the best thing to do now."

* * *

"Matthew _told_ her?" Amelia yelled at Andrew when he told her about Selina hearing Matthew's news from him personally and the big mess it had become. "Was she upset? Was that tramp Matthew married full of shame? Will the two lovebirds be heading for divorce court?"

"You don't have to yell," Andrew said. "I'm standing right here."

"How did Selina react?" Amelia asked, speaking quieter, but not apologizing. "Was she upset?"

"Well, Matthew said she didn't seem happy, but he expected that," Andrew replied. "She _did_ wish them well, however, which shows she has a lot more maturity than you. Well, at least until Christine went and said that she and Matthew were proud of Selina for taking the news so well. Then Selina got upset and Matthew had to calm her down. I guess there's more of you in her than we thought."

"I could have told you that," Amelia smiled smugly. "I don't know why anyone is so surprised that she's acting like this."

"Because it's not usually how she acts!" Andrew replied. "She's not petty, or spiteful, or the type to fly off the handle at every little thing. At least not very often. I hope Matthew was able to cheer her up."

"And if he couldn't, what will you both do then?" Amelia asked. "Do you want me to take a turn?"

"No," Andrew shook his head. "She's angry enough already. We don't need you making it worse. I'm sure she'll find some way to fix it herself if we can't help her."

* * *

"Don't move!" Lucy instructed Damon as she peered over her easel, being as much into art as her father, Klaus was. "I know you're uncomfortable, but if you move, it throws off my concentration completely and the picture will be screwed up."

Damon was naked and positioned in a pose like _The Thinker_. He grunted and then said, "Sorry about that."

"No problem," Lucy replied, pushing her blonde hair out of her eyes "Just try not to do it again. This has to be perfect."

"Why can't you do some sort of Picasso thing?" Damon asked. "If you put just one little flaw in there, I'm sure it would still be good."

Just then, the loud and prolonged ringing of the doorbell made Lucy jump so that a long streak of paint landed where it wasn't supposed to be. "Oh, damn!" She said. "I might as well go answer the door. This is ruined."

"Oh, no," Damon said as he dressed. "You're finishing it. I didn't squat naked for what seemed like hours for nothing."

They then headed to the door, which was now beginning to be knocked on. "All right, already!" Lucy shouted. "We're coming! Ease up already!" She opened the door and let out a cry as her mother landed face first on the floor.

"Mom what happened?" Lucy said as she helped her up. "Are you all right?"

"Will you check to see if my car is smashed?" Selina asked Lucy. "I might have had a bit to drink before I came over here."

"Okay," Damon said, taking one look at her unfocused gaze and then picking her up to put her on the sofa. "You've had a bit to drink, have you? Why?"

"Well, cause you told me that drinking was the best way to deal with problems, and I have a problem," Selina replied and lay her head on his shoulder.

"I can't believe you told her that!" Charlotte said. appearing behind her son and hitting him on the shoulder. "With all of Amelia's drinking troubles, that's the _last_ thing you should have told her daughter!"

"Hi, Charlotte!" Selina waved. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," Charlotte told her. "The question is, how are _you_? What's happened?"

"Daddy married Christine and now she thinks she's my mother!" Selina replied. "And now Daddy will spend all his time with her and forget all about me."

"Oh, I'm sure he wouldn't do that," Charlotte assured her. "It was difficult when you were a little girl and I'm sure he learned from his mistakes and won't repeat them."

"Are you _sure_?" Selina asked.

"Yes, I'm sure," Charlotte replied firmly.

"Mama says that that's what will happen," Selina continued. "That Daddy abandoned me before and he's just going to do it again."

"Look at me, dear," Charlotte said, trying to get Selina to focus. "I love your mother with all my heart, even when she's acting insane, but the last thing you should do is listen to her when she talks about this. She's as upset about it as you are, and as is the case when you were a little girl, you're one of the few people she feels she can get to validate her own feelings by making you feel just as bad as she does. Don't let that happen, please."

"'Kay," Selina promised. "I won't."

"How'd you get out of the house without Elijah catching you?" Damon asked, a smirk on his face. "Surely you couldn't just stride up to him, say 'I'm going to Damon's house' and then leave."

"He's been drinking as much as me," Selina replied. "Cause Daddy married Christine, which means that his father in law is his son in law, just like my stepdaughter is now my stepmother." She then sat up a little and looked between Damon and Lucy, chuckling. "I thought I was at the pinnacle of weird when my daughter married my ex-husband, but apparently, I was wrong."

"Did you say that Uncle Elijah is home alone, Mom?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah, he is," Selina nodded. "He might even be up now."

"Okay," Lucy looked Damon in the eye. "Here's what we're gonna do: you watch Mom, and I'll go tend to Uncle Elijah, okay?"

"Okay," Damon nodded. "Do you think you'll be able to handle him when you tell him where your mom is?"

"I'll figure something out," Lucy promised. "You just make sure Mom doesn't hurt herself."

* * *

When Lucy put her key in the lock and let herself into Elijah and Selina's house, she found her uncle stumbling around and calling out her mother's name.

Lucy caught him and said, "I know exactly where Mom is. She came over to my house and now Damon's looking after her. She's going to be all right. We need to get you back to bed. It can't be good for you to be wandering around like this."

" _What_?" Elijah's eyes widened as Lucy got him on the sofa. "You left your mother alone with Damon when she's drunk? How could you do that?"

"Just lie down!" Lucy cried. "You're not helping yourself and you don't have anything to worry about."

But it soon became clear that her word alone wouldn't calm her uncle and that she needed reinforcements. After promising her uncle that she was going to call Damon and have him bring Selina home, she was able to calm him down long enough to call Gregory and Laura and have them come by while she went to get her mother.

When they finally arrived, Elijah paid no attention to Gregory, but went to hug Laura instead. He squeezed her really tight and said, "I'm so glad you came back, Selina! I hope you didn't do anything I wouldn't have approved of with Damon. Cause you know how much that hurts me." He then kissed her on the cheek, but when he tried to go for her lips, that was when Gregory pulled him away and made him sit back on the sofa.

"Father," he told Elijah patiently, "This is Laura. Not Mother. Lucy is getting Mother and bringing her home."

"Really?" Elijah asked, leaning forward to gaze at his oldest son. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure," Gregory replied. "Just how much have you had to drink today? Do I need to get you coffee or something?"

"No, I don't want coffee!" Elijah replied firmly and tried to get up so many times that both Laura and Gregory had to hold him down. "I want your mother!"

"She's coming but you have to _wait_ ," Laura said calmly. "It probably won't take very long." And she was right. It was probably only a few minutes more before Lucy pulled up in Selina's car and brought her inside, but it seemed much longer than that.

Selina fell into Elijah's arms, he kissed her and then said, "You better not go running off again. I don't like that."

"Okay, I won't," Selina replied and took his hand. "I think you need to go to bed."

"That's what they've been telling me, but I'm ready now," Elijah replied and let Selina pull him off to bed while Laura, Lucy, and Gregory all stared at one another uncomfortably before Lucy said, "Who wants to go to Roxie's and get a drink?"

"My father tried to French me, I think I deserve one," Laura replied. "Let's go. I'll drive."


	6. No More Fear

"What should we do about a honeymoon?" Christine asked Matthew. "I have some places I'd like to go, but we don't have to go right away."

"Well, of course we're going to have a honeymoon!" Matthew replied. "There's no reason for us to skip out on that."

"Good," Christine nodded. "I've always wanted to go to Salem. You know, where the witch trials were? It's supposed to be a real party town on Halloween." She paused as Matthew's face twisted. "What's the matter? You don't want to do that? We can do whatever you want."

"The idea itself isn't bad," Matthew replied. "But…Selina's birthday is on Halloween, and I feel that if I skipped it to go somewhere with you, she'd be even madder than she is now."

"True," Christine nodded. "I suppose I could wait until after, but the whole point of my honeymoon idea is doing something fun over Halloween."

"Maybe we can compromise," Matthew suggested. He called up Selina and to his relief, when she answered, she didn't sound drunk. "Darlin'," he said carefully, "How would you feel about celebrating your birthday a bit early this year?"

"Why would we do that?" Selina asked.

"Well, Christine wants to do something Halloween-centered for our honeymoon and that would mean missing your birthday if we didn't make alternate plans," Matthew replied.

There was a long silence and then Selina said, "I suppose that's all right as long as it's not forgotten entirely."

"Thank you," Matthew replied. "I know this whole marriage of mine is hard for you, but I'm very grateful to have such an understanding daughter."

"You're welcome," Selina told him, trying to keep hold of her temper and not burst into anger over the phone. "I-I hope you and Christine enjoy your honeymoon."

"We will," Matthew assured her. "Just as much as you're going to enjoy your birthday." He paused. "So…when would you like us to come celebrate your birthday with you?"

"Can it just be you and me?" Selina asked. "No offense to Christine, but I'm not sure I'm quite ready to deal with her in her new context yet, especially given the circumstances of the situation. I know I'll have to include her sometime, and I promise it _will_ happen, but now it's just too soon."

"All right," Matthew replied. "I'll come alone. What are you doing five days before your birthday?"

"Nothing much," Selina replied. "Probably just decorating for Halloween. Why don't we get a pizza and you can watch some scary movies with me?"

"That sounds like fun," Matthew replied. "And would you like me to bring you a cake? I know you like baking, but you shouldn't have to make your own birthday cake."

"All right," Selina told him. "I think I'd like that. Can't wait to see you."

"Yes," Matthew nodded. "We'll have fun, I promise."

"You don't need to promise me that," Matthew told her. "That's what I should be promising _you_. Talk to you later, darling."

"All right, Daddy," Selina said. "Talk to you later."

Matthew hung up and Christine said, "So…it sounds like you're going to Selina's to celebrate her birthday."

"Yes, I am," Matthew confirmed. "She didn't feel comfortable about you being there. I hope you understand about that."

"Of course," Christine said easily. "I'll have enough time alone with you on our honeymoon anyway. I can spare you for a day."

Matthew smiled and hugged her then. "It's such a blessing to have at least _one_ person in my life that has their head on straight at all times," he said. "You're wonderful."

"I'm not doing anything a decent person wouldn't do in a situation like this," Christine replied. "I really _do_ believe that Selina will accept us. She accepted me after what went on with Elijah and my mom. I may be thinking really optimistically here, but I truly believe that once she has time to adjust to what we did, and we assure her that she won't be forgotten just because you and I are married, she'll at least accept what we did, even if she's never joyful about it."

"I really hope so," Matthew replied. "Cause I would really hate for her to act as immaturely as Amelia is. In fact, I'm really frightened that Amelia will see Selina's anger about this and just tell her things that will make it worse."

And he was right, of course. Andrew was listening to what they were saying, and although he knew it wouldn't be easy to tell Amelia, he figured it would be better to say something to her now then let her hear the news later from her angry daughter.

* * *

"Matthew wants to _skip_ Selina's birthday?" Amelia huffed after Andrew told her of Matthew's plan for his and Christine's honeymoon. "That just makes me so mad! I didn't spend all those hours in labor and risk the very real possibility of death so he could just skip off with his new wife and forget all about his daughter!"

"He's not skipping it," Andrew said patiently. "He and Selina talked and she said it was okay to celebrate it early so they could go on their honeymoon when they wanted. That's not the same as forgetting. Why do you take everything Christine does or wants as some horrible slight when it has nothing to do with you? Why can't you just be happy that Matthew is happy?"

"Cause that means everyone is happy but me!" Amelia cried. "And is that fair? No, it's not!"

"I'm sorry you're miserable," Andrew told her. "What _would_ make you happy?"

"Nothing that can actually be done," Amelia replied. "Another chance at life to do whatever I want without someone hovering and telling me I'm wrong would be nice." She paused and then smiled at him. "And if you were there too, that would be all right."

"Is that so?" Andrew asked. "Well, that's very generous."

"Of course it is," Amelia replied. "I can be very generous when I want to be."

"Let's expand on this idea you just brought up about my being there with you if you were somehow brought back to life," Andrew suggested. "What would you want from me? If it was just to continue to be your lapdog, I wouldn't be interested."

"That's not what I meant, all right?" Amelia told him. "I meant that if I got a second chance to be alive, then maybe you and I could possibly be together."

"Why would that only work if you got a second chance at life?" Andrew asked. "Why can't we work on it now?"

"Because now, it's just too hard," Amelia replied. "I'm still the screwed up person I've always been, you know? And I don't know if that can change."

"It can," Andrew told her confidently. "It did when you were alive, even if it was just for a little while after your parents passed away. Then _I_ went and died and everything just reverted back to how it was before."

"Yes," Amelia nodded. "Yes it did. Because I didn't know what else to do. It didn't feel right to try and be so bold without a man around. And really, I didn't like anyone else other than you."

"Is that right?" Andrew smiled.

"Yes," Amelia nodded. "It is. So…so you can see why I'm mad at you. I made the mistake of pinning all my hopes on you, you died, and I was once again left with nothing."

"Well, I'm sorry," Matthew replied. "I've stopped gambling, you know."

"Have you really?" Amelia smiled. "What a shame. I was hoping you could teach me sometime."

"Excuse me?" Andrew asked, not knowing what to do about her sudden mood change. It seemed to him, as always, that there were two Amelias: the Amelia who had her own wants and needs, and the Amelia who lived by her mother's rules and put everything she wanted aside. They both fought inside her and either could show up at any time. "Are you serious?"

"Yes," Amelia nodded. "I was a vampire for some time, you know. And there's a game of poker where you take off your clothes. " She grabbed Andrew's cravat and pulled him toward her. "That would be fun…don't you think?"

"Yes," Andrew nodded. "I really think it would. I might just have to ask Alice if she knows about that."

"Not Alice!" Amelia said. "I meant me!"

"You?" Andrew asked. "You want to play a game where you…you know, take off your clothes in front of me? But what about…what about your scars?"

"All those disappeared when I became a vampire," Amelia said. "They're gone now."

"Interesting," Andrew got out. "Is this what we're going to be doing instead of troubling Matthew about Selina's birthday?"

"Of course not," Amelia replied. "That'll come after it. It's how I'll unwind."

"G-good," Andrew got out. "I can't wait."

"Oh, no!" Matthew said when he walked into Selina's house with cake in hand, all ready to celebrate her birthday, and saw Amelia sitting next to Selina on the sofa. "What in the world are you doing here, Amelia?"

"What's Halloween without a ghost?" Amelia smirked back. "What's the cake for?"

"It's to celebrate my birthday," Selina told her mother. "I agreed to celebrate early since Dad and Christine won't be here on my _actual_ birthday."

"And pray tell, what is it that would keep you from celebrating with her on her _actual_ birthday?" Amelia asked Matthew.

"Christine and I will be honeymooning," Matthew told her.

"And there couldn't be another time you could have scheduled that?" Amelia asked, bristling.

"Not if I wanted to give Christine the honeymoon she wanted, no," Matthew replied as he shook his head. "Why are you so concerned about this, Amelia? If your daughter's not so bothered by it, I don't see why you should be."

"Oh, please!" Amelia scoffed. "She's just pretending not to be bothered for your benefit! She's really miserable about it."

"No, I'm not," Selina said. "Now can we please stop talking about this? I don't want any fights during my birthday celebration."

"No, no," Matthew said. "Amelia clearly has some issue that she needs to get out, so we should let her. Please Amelia, tell us why you're so upset that I'm not celebrating Selina's birthday on the day it's supposed to be celebrated?"

"Do you know how hard it is to be pregnant and give birth?" Amelia asked him. "I could have _died_ giving birth to your daughter. But I did it anyway. I got pregnant and gave birth even though I wasn't ready because that's what my mother told me my only purpose in life was. If we had just waited one more year, I would have been ready. But we didn't. Between you and my mother, you just pushed and pushed and pushed, and I finally gave in because that was what made the nagging stop. I made this big sacrifice, so the least you could do is honor it instead of skipping it."

"So now you finally say it," Selina told Amelia quietly. "I always sensed that you never really wanted me, but it's good to finally hear it out loud." She took the cake from Matthew, thanked him for it, then strode off to her room, slamming the door.

Amelia followed immediately after, drifting through her daughter's closed door and staring with dismay as Selina shoved cake in her face.

"I don't mean that I didn't want you," she told her. "That's not what I said."

"Oh, I'm pretty sure you did," Selina replied after swallowing. "That's what calling my birth a big sacrifice means, doesn't it?"

"You know that's not true," Amelia told her. "And if you'd _had_ children in the nineteenth century, you'd understand. You'd know what it means to fear that you'll be dead while your baby lives. That's what I mean when I say it's a sacrifice. I was lucky enough not to die. But your aunt did. Abigail died, and the baby too."

"I _did_ give birth during the nineteenth century, remember?" Selina replied. "The last thing I did before I became a vampire was give birth to Damon's son. Then I was turned and he was shipped off to live with Giuseppe and I didn't see him again for years."

"And were you…ready to give birth when you did?" Amelia asked.

"Yes," Selina nodded. "His conception was my idea. When Damon told me he was joining up to go fight, I said that I wanted to go to bed with him before he left so that in case he didn't come back, there was at least a chance I'd have a child to remember him by."

"You're so lucky," Amelia told her. "Everything you've done in your life has been something you chose, hasn't it? No one's ever successfully made you do something you didn't want to. Not even me."

"And I suppose that I have you to thank for that," Selina told her. "Cause while you may have disapproved of my actions, you didn't try as hard as you could have to stop me. Did you want to make sure that at least one of us was allowed a relatively free life?"

"Yes," Amelia nodded. "Then I got terribly jealous as a result and sabotaged it all. I'm sorry."

"Thank you," Selina replied. "And I-I understand why you were angry a lot of the time. Between losing everyone who could help you raise me, worrying that I was going to turn into a werewolf, and struggling with having a husband who treated you badly, it…it wasn't easy for you, was it?"

"No," Amelia shook her head. "But I suppose…I suppose I could have handled it better."

"No, you couldn't," Selina replied. "You handled it the best you could…and sent me away to live with other people so that I wouldn't have to deal with watching you suffer much. Thank you for that."

"You're welcome," Amelia told her. "I know it didn't make for much of a stable home life for you, going from place to place like you did, but it was all I could think of to protect you." She then stared at Selina and reached out to hug her. Selina put her fork down and hugged back then while Amelia whispered, "Happy birthday," in her ear before disappearing and leaving Selina to pick up her cake and go back to Matthew.

"Is everything okay?" He asked. "I was about to come and check on you."

"Yeah, it's all right," Selina nodded. "Mama and I, we had a talk. Probably the best birthday present she could have given me."

"Good," Matthew smiled. He then brought a box out from the kitchen. "The pizza came. Can you eat that now, or are you too full of cake?"

"I can eat pizza," Selina nodded. Matthew then stuck a candle in the pizza slice and sang to her since she had eaten enough of the cake that it was hard to stick a candle in, and then they watched _The Mummy_ and _Dracula_ before Matthew headed back to Christine and, to his surprise, Selina wished him a good time on his honeymoon.

* * *

"So..how did things go with you and Selina?" Andrew asked her as he shuffled a deck of cards. "Was there a lot of fighting?"

"No, there wasn't," Amelia replied. "We finally had a talk. I think it will mean better things for us from now on."

"Well, that's _good!"_ Andrew exclaimed with a smile. "I'm very proud of you, Amelia."

"I'm proud of me too," Amelia said. "Now, what are those cards for?"

"You said that after you talked to Selina, you'd teach me the game with the cards and the stripping!" Andrew exclaimed. "Don't tell me you're backing out now!"

"Oh, my goodness," Amelia giggled. "Andrew, I was just teasing! I remember that perfectly well." She took the cards from him and shuffled them in mid-air, dealing out five cards to both of them.

"All right, I know this part," Andrew replied. "Now, how do we bet?"

"We don't," Amelia shook her head. "Look at your hand. What do you have? Do you want any other cards?"

"No, I'm fine. I got a full house," Andrew replied. "What do you have?"

"Just a minute," Amelia said. She exchanged three cards and said, "Here's my hand. Do I win?"

Andrew looked it over and said, "No, I'm afraid you don't. You only have a pair. Now what happens?"

"Well," Amelia got up, and then said, "Well, if I lose, fair is fair." She then removed her dress and Andrew stared with his mouth open. "Shut your mouth," she told him as she sat down. "You're not a fish."

"No," Andrew shook his head. "I'm a man. And as a man, let me just say that I really like this game if every time you lose a hand you're going to be taking off your clothes."

"Yes," Amelia nodded. "And every time you lose a hand, _you_ take off your clothes. You got it?"

"Yes, but I don't have to lose a hand," Andrew told her. "I'll just do it."

"Oh, but this is so much more fun," Amelia replied, smiling wickedly. "Don't you think?"

"Yes," Andrew nodded. "I really think I do."

Early on Halloween morning, Elijah, Klaus, and Amy sneaked into Selina's room while she was still sleeping, turned the light on, and yelled 'Surprise!'

"What in the world?" Selina shot up, wide-eyed. "What's going on?"

"I wanted to surprise you on your birthday," Elijah replied. "So here we are."

"Well, it's certainly a surprise all right." She smiled and gave him a hug (she was wearing a long t-shirt and panties so neither Amy nor Klaus saw anything Elijah wouldn't have wanted them to see.) She then noticed that Amy was holding a chocolate cake with orange frosting on it.

"I hope you don't object to cake so early in the morning," Amy smiled. "I just thought I'd make this up so you wouldn't have to make your own cake on your birthday."

"Oh, my god!" Selina smiled. "Thank you so much!" Then Klaus lit the candles (Selina always had ten regardless of what birthday it was cause she thought it seemed like a good amount to blow out). They sang and then Selina blew out her candles before they all went to the kitchen for coffee, which was a very good start to Selina's day.

"What will you be doing today?" Amy asked her. "Anything special?"

"I actually did a majority of my celebrating a few days ago," Selina told her. "So I think I'll just hang out here today. Maybe read some ghost stories and watch a movie or something."

"That sounds like fun," Amy remarked with a smile.

"This is really good cake!" Selina remarked to her friend after she swallowed. "Thanks for making it for me."

"You're welcome," Amy replied. "I'm glad you like it."

"You might want to stop by Roxanne's sometime today," Klaus told Selina. "I was over there just yesterday, and she said that if you came by on your birthday, she'd do something special for you."

"Is that so?" Selina asked. "I might just have to do that." She looked at Elijah. "You wanna come to Roxie's with me?"

"Sure," Elijah replied. "Why not?"

They chatted with Klaus and Amy a little longer, and then after the pair had left, got dressed and headed to Roxie's to see what she had in store.

When they strode through the door, Selina was immediately picked up and carried to the karaoke stage.

"I was hoping you'd come," Roxie told her. "I even decorated, see?"

"Yeah, your father told me you had something up your sleeve," Selina told her. "And I was dying from curiosity, so here I am."

"Well, for starters," Roxie brought over a tray full of shots of dessert-flavored vodka. "These are all yours. People bought them for you as presents."

"All of those?" Selina asked. "I don't know if I should drink _all_ of them." She then looked over at Elijah. "You wanna help me drink all these?" She asked.

"Of course," he remarked. "I'd be glad to."

The bar then burst into a round of "Happy Birthday" before chanting for Selina to chug all she could. When she'd passed out, Elijah took her up to bed and then came down to finish the rest of her birthday shots.

When she felt well enough to come downstairs again, she sat down by the karaoke stage and made a list of songs she wanted to hear people sing. As most of the people who came up to sing were varying levels of drunk, the results were very amusing.

Finally, her daughter presented her with a small cupcake that had a candle in it, and after she'd eaten that, Roxie took them both home, and they spent the rest of Selina's birthday in bed.


	7. Steps Forward and Steps Back

Realizing that her father's marriage was bringing out the worst in her, Selina tried to counteract that by doing something good for somebody. She went to see Amy and said, "So…how's the vampire thing going for you? Do you need any help?"

"It wouldn't hurt," Amy replied. "I have got to be the worst vampire who was ever born."

"Oh, I'm sure you're not that bad!" Selina told her. "What would make you think such a silly thing?"

"Because I just can't get into it even though I know that drinking blood is the only way I can really stay alive now," Amy told her. "I just keep feeling like I'm doing something terrible and immoral, and I don't like feeling that way."

"How have you been getting your blood?" Selina asked. "If you've been hunting for it, I can see how you'd feel bad. But there are always blood bags. You know about those, right?"

"Of course," Amy nodded. "But…I feel I need to hunt, or else I'm just gonna keep being judgmental of Klaus like I was before. I don't want that. I want to be on the same level with him."

"Well, would you like me to hunt with you?" Selina asked. "Would that make you feel better?"

"Actually, I thought of something completely different," Amy replied. "I noticed that I enjoyed it when I feed off Klaus, so I thought to myself, 'Why don't I just feed off other vampires?' I tried it out and I didn't come out of it feeling like I'd done anything truly awful, so that's the way I think I want to go. Unless you think it will get me in trouble."

"No, I don't think it should," Selina shook her head. "You need to be careful about killing humans because it gives us away as a species if too many are killed at once in one place, but I don't think there are rules about killing other vampires. In fact, I think that's what Mikael used to do, if he still doesn't. We don't talk, so I don't know for sure."

"Well, it's good to know that I'm not breaking any laws," Amy smiled. "Cause I really think it's gonna work." She paused. "Although, I wouldn't mind going hunting with you sometime. You wanna go?"

"Elijah gets nervous when I hunt," Selina told her. "He has this horrible, but not unreasonable fear that I'm going to go overboard. But maybe he'd be okay with it if I told him I was helping you. He might offer to come along, but he'd still let me go."

"You think?" Amy asked. "When you tell him and he gives you an answer, let me know."

"All right," Selina promised her before going to root around in the refrigerator. "I will."

* * *

Although she didn't regret promising to hunt with Amy, Selina was still worried about what Elijah would say once she told him. She thought about waiting until after school the next day when he would be good and drunk, but then figured that that would be a bad idea. So she told him over lunch instead.

He just looked at her and sighed. "I really don't know what to say about this," he said. "I mean, on the one hand, I suppose it's noble that you want to help Amy through this difficult time, but at the same time, you _know_ how easy it is for you to lose control of yourself when you hunt. I can see you and Amy hunting together: she'll show restraint, but you'll rack up a body count, especially with the mood you're in about your father and Christine."

"No, I _won't_!" Selina shook her head. "I'll be careful. I promise. What if I bring a blood bag with me and don't eat at all?"

"Wouldn't that defeat the point though?" Elijah asked. "I thought the point was to make Amy more comfortable with hunting by doing it _with_ her."

"True," Selina replied. "But I can make it through okay. Just trust me, please?"

"You know I would _love_ to trust you," Elijah told her. "Really, I would. But I would feel much more comfortable coming with you. Would Amy be amenable to that? Did she know that that would be a possibility when you offered to come with her?"

"I _did,_ actually," Selina replied. "And she seemed okay with it."

"Good," Elijah replied. "When are we going to meet her?"

"I was thinking that maybe we could just head straight to Klaus and Amy's after school," Selina suggested. "What do you think about that?"

"I think we should go," Elijah agreed. "It would be nice to have something other than your father and Christine to focus on for a change."

"Sorry about that," Selina apologized. "I know I talk about it way too much."

"It's not your fault," Elijah told her. "This is a really big thing, and we're dealing with it the best we can."

"Hell, yes we are," Selina nodded. "So…meet you right at the car after class? Or do you have to do something first?"

"No, we can leave right after," Elijah replied.

"Good," Selina nodded, and then pulled out a book.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Elijah asked. "It's lunch time!"

"Oh, I've been eating all morning," Selina told him. "I'm not hungry at all."

"Ah," Elijah nodded, remembering how powerless Selina was when faced with baked goods, especially baked goods left unattended in her classroom. "All right, proceed."

"Thank you," Selina said. "I was planning on doing that anyway." She looked to see what he had on his tray. "May I have some of your fries, please?"

"Yes, you may," Elijah told her and pushed the tray toward her. "I got them for you anyway. Would you like some ketchup?"

"Yes, please," Selina nodded.

He squirted some in the corner and Selina stuck he fries in it and ate them one by one. When they were gone, she went back to her book, and then when lunch was over, gave Elijah a kiss on the cheek and told him that she'd meet him at the car after school to go to Klaus and Amy's.

* * *

"I'm surprised you came, Elijah." Klaus told his brother as he, Elijah, Amy, and Selina stalked around the woods looking for any hapless hikers or campers to feed on. "I would have thought you'd have no interest in an outing like this."

"Oh, he really doesn't," Amy said. "He's just here to watch Selina and make sure she doesn't go overboard."

Klaus smirked. "I should have known he wouldn't come for the fun of it."

"Well, I think I'm handling myself pretty well," Elijah told his brother. "While I may not hunt with the rest of you, I'm not going to stop you from doing what you will."

"Do you really think you could?" Amy asked.

Klaus heard this and gave Amy a hug. "That was the best thing you could have said," he told her.

Finally, they came across a campsite. Two campers were asleep in a tent and there didn't seem to be anyone else around.

"So, do you want to go for these two?" Klaus whispered against Amy's ear.

"Sure," Amy nodded. "But not while they're asleep. "I prefer to get them on the run." She then knocked the tent over and the two men stumbled out, swearing under their breaths.

They looked at Amy for a few seconds before both she and Selina bared their teeth and took off at a run after the frightened pair.

Klaus followed behind at a leisurely pace while Elijah tried to catch up to his wife.

"Relax," Klaus told him. "Let your wife have a little fun."

"She's not in the proper frame of mind to have this kind of fun," Elijah said firmly. "I let her do what she will and it will be Lonely Heart all over again. And she'll drag Amy down with her. Is that what you want?"

Klaus shrugged. "I wouldn't mind it," he said.

Not knowing why he'd expected any other response from his brother, Elijah took off after the women alone, but when he came across them, he found them only feeding off one.

"What happened to the other man?" He asked Amy.

"Selina thought it would be best to let him go," Amy said. "She didn't want to lose control of herself."

"Is that so?" Elijah said.

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "I told you you could trust me."

"Well, that's good," Elijah replied. "I'm very proud of you." He then looked at Amy. "How are you feeling?" He asked.

"I know I'll probably regret doing this in a few hours," Amy replied, blood still wet and obvious around her mouth. "But for now, I'm happy."

"I thought you'd say that," Elijah got out. "I'm sure my brother will be pleased."

"Where'd he go, by the way?" Amy asked. "Did he come with you?" She got up from the body and went in search of him while Selina fed a little while longer and pulled away.

"I' think I'm done now," she told her husband. "I'd like to go home."

"All right," Elijah nodded and helped her up. "Let's say goodbye to Amy and go, then."

* * *

"So…can we talk about that stripping game?" Andrew asked Amelia. "Please? You can't just do that to me, you know. Play something like that with me once and then not say another thing about it."

"No we can't," Amelia replied, unable to look at him because she was blushing furiously. "I have no idea why I showed you that. I don't know what I was thinking."

"Damn it, Amelia!" Andrew cried and grabbed her, turning her around so that she was facing him and looking into his eyes. "Why do you keep doing this to me? Why is it that every step forward with you is followed by ten steps back?"

"Because it feels _wrong_ ," Amelia told him. "My whole life, my mother told me that everything I wanted was wrong. Every sexual desire, every angry feeling, every life goal outside of being a wife and mother…and every time I tried to be like my daughter and do what _I_ wanted, I was shamed for it, to the point where I'm now just so afraid of my own needs and wants that I-I can't express them without feeling terrible afterwards. I know you think I'm just doing it to punish you and control you, but I'm really not. I promise. Just be patient with me, please. I'll get there."

Andrew gave her a long look and then gently took her hand. "Please don't take this the wrong way," he said to her. "But if you're left to your own devices, do you _really_ think you'll be able to get to where we can be a couple? Or will you always be so afraid that you'll sabotage us every time?"

"I don't _know_!" Amelia cried out in frustration and stomped her foot, making the chandelier sway dangerously over their heads and the lights in the room flicker on and off. "It's easy for me to just say 'Yes' when I don't have to prove it, but when it comes to walking the walk…" she sighed. "I want to," she told him. "I want to _so_ badly, but I…I don't…" She looked Andrew in the eye. "Help me, please."

"All right," Andrew replied. "But you have to trust me. Do you trust me?"

"You know I do," Amelia said quietly.

"Good," Andrew nodded. "Here's step one: a step we've done many times." He pulled her to him and gave her a long and leisurely kiss. When he pulled away, he asked her, "Do you feel comfortable enough to move on to step two?"

Amelia gave him a small smile. "I don't know," she said. "We might have to do step one a few hundred more times. Does that bother you?"

"Of course not," Andrew replied, before kissing her again as she threw her arms around his neck. "You know I'm a very patient man."

"Yes, you'd have to be to put up with me, wouldn't you?" Amelia asked. "I don't know if it's dedication or insanity."

"A little bit of both, I think," Andrew smiled. "Don't you?"

* * *

"Why is it that every time I say something to Selina, she gets pissed off?" Christine wanted to know as she and Matthew unpacked after their honeymoon. "Have you noticed that? Should I just go about my life and stop trying to bond with her?"

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to give it a rest for now," Matthew sighed. "She's clearly not ready to handle us, just like she said when she invited me over for her birthday. But I'm very proud of you for trying, anyway." He gave Christine a hug. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Christine smiled. "And that was an awesome honeymoon we went on. Don't you think?"

"I certainly enjoyed myself and learned some new things," Matthew agreed. "Maybe I'll let you pick where we go for _all_ our vacations."

"If that's what you want, I'll take on the job," Christine promised. "But I'll make sure to pick out some nice, outdoorsy places for you to fish and stuff, so it's not just all about what _I_ want. Cause that wouldn't be any good. You already have enough women stopping you from doing what you want and I don't want to be another one on the list."

"You could _never_ be," Matthew assured her, taking her face in his hands and giving her a kiss. "Don't you worry about that."

"I'm surprised the house is in such good shape," Christine remarked as she looked around. "I thought that having ghosts here would bring it into ruin."

"Apparently not," Matthew shrugged. "Perhaps my brother has managed to lull Amelia into some sense of calm."

"I hope so," Christine said. "That would be nice."

"Would you like to go out riding after we unpack?" Matthew asked. "I mean, if you don't want to because we just got back and you'd like to rest, I'd understand, but…I was feeling like a ride myself."

"Of course!" Christine replied, grabbing his hand and pulling him out of the room. "But let's go now. We can always unpack later. The suitcases will still be here when we get back."


	8. Ghosts Come Out To Socialize

"When I said I was trusting you to take control of our relationship, that didn't mean I wanted you to take me to stare at your brother and Christine all the time," Amelia told Andrew. "Why are we doing this? Are you trying to torture me?"

"No," Andrew shook his head. "I want you to see what a normal, healthy relationship looks like, and they're just right here. Are you learning anything?"

"Yes," Amelia scowled. "I'm learning that I would very much like to punch you in the face. That is what I'm learning."

"This is good!" Andrew said and Amelia turned to look at him in surprise. "What do you _mean_ 'This is good'? Are you saying that you'll actually let me punch you in the face?"

"No," Andrew shook his head. "I think not. But you seem to be getting more comfortable with expressing negative emotion. That's progress."

"It's not negative emotion I've had trouble with," Amelia corrected. "I've always been all right with expressing negative emotion. It's whether I've been allowed to without reprisal or not that's the issue."

"Ah, all right," Andrew nodded. "I see the difference." He then put a hand on Amelia's shoulder as they watched Matthew and Christine cuddling in front of the television. "You see what they're doing? You see how they interact with each other? That's what a healthy physical relationship looks like. It's proof that you can have one without going overboard."

"Yes, I know that," Amelia told him impatiently and got out of his grip. "It was never I who was afraid that even the slightest physical interaction would send someone spiraling into werewolf mode. It was my mother. Of course, she never felt the same thing about my brothers, so there you go. I _do_ know somewhat about what a good physical relationship is. We don't need to go over this."

"Really?" Andrew asked. "Cause I naturally just assumed that you blocked all of that out."

"I suppose that's reasonable thing to say, and I would be lying if I said there weren't times, especially after you died, where I found myself wishing passionately that I could forget everything that happened between us, cause it would make the fact that I was never going to experience it again much less painful, but no…I've never completely been able to block it out," Amelia told him.

"Is that so?" Andrew reached out and touched her hand. "Well…thank you for telling me. I'm very touched."

"You're very welcome," Amelia replied, looking down at their joined hands. "It's a real waste, isn't it?" She asked.

"What do you mean?" Andrew wanted to know.

"Well, we want to make progress on our relationship and such, but since we're dead and can't feel a thing, at least not in the same way, what's the point?" Amelia elaborated.

"It's true that the experience isn't as…intense as it should be," Andrew agreed. "But that doesn't mean it's not worth anything. If we really want this to go somewhere, we need to take what we can get. Do you agree with me?"

"Yes," Amelia said. "I suppose having less of the experience but still having it is better than having none at all." She gave Andrew a long look, swallowed, and then slowly leaned forward to kiss him.

"Well, that was awful," she said when she pulled away feeling very underwhelmed by her own perceived lack of ability. "I'm sorry."

"Don't feel bad," Andrew told her. "I liked it. It was a good try."

"A good _try_?" Amelia asked. "Oh, damn. Never mind, I give up." She tried to sit down hard on a chair to show how frustrated she was, but since she had no weight, her anger made no impact at all.

"You know who you should talk to so you can get help with your problem?" Andrew asked.

"No, I don't," Amelia said dryly. "Please tell me."

"You should talk to Alice!" Andrew said. "She's _awfully_ good at talking about stuff like this, and I really _do_ think a few conversations with her would help you."

"You want me to talk to your girlfriend?" Amelia scoffed. "No, thank you. I had no idea she was even still around!"

"Of course she is," Andrew replied. "I mean, our relationship has changed since I made the choice to focus more attention on you, but she and I still spend time together in a non-romantic, very friendly sort of way."

"But just _how_ friendly?" Amelia asked, hands on hips as she got right in Andrew's face. "Not _too_ friendly, I hope, Andrew Samuel Warren!"

"Of course not," Andrew shook his head, his dark eyes flashing with exasperation. "Didn't you hear me say that our relationship changed when I decided to focus all my attention on you? Or, once again, are you just hearing things you want to hear?"

"I just want to make sure that you're not leading me on, and that I'll end up alone after all this," Amelia told him. "And given what happened with us in the past, it's not an unreasonable request."

"What thing from the past are you talking about?" Andrew asked. "I never cheated on you. I decided to propose to Abigail when your mother made it very clear there was no place in your life for me cause she wouldn't allow it. And I admit that I shouldn't have gone off and gambled after you and I got together later on, but that's _not_ the same as cheating."

"It may not have been cheating, but I was still left without you afterward," Amelia countered. "Do you understand?"

"Yes," Andrew nodded. "I promise that if you just find it in yourself to trust me, the only person I'll gamble with is you." He smiled. "Based on how the stripping game turned out, I think you'd be quite the card shark."

Amelia softened then. "You're lucky you don't play for money in that game, cause I'd leave you very broke."

"Is that so?" Andrew asked, his eyebrow going up as he took advantage of Amelia's relaxing mood and brought her against him. "I really wouldn't mind losing to you sometimes."

"Would you want to prove that?" Amelia asked.

"Of course," Andrew smiled and grabbed her hand, leading her to another empty room by pulling her after him through the wall.

* * *

It was as they disappeared that thunder pierced the sky and in a corner of the living room, a vortex of light appeared, letting an orb of gray light through before it disappeared. The orb of light flew behind the sofa and out of the living room before making the house lose power so it could form into the shape of a tall, imposing woman with long dark hair, icy blue eyes, very sharp cheek bones, and a wicked grin. Edele McCullough had returned to enact revenge on those who had caused her death. And anyone else she came across, cause that's just how she was.

"You two?" Charlotte said as she burst in on Andrew and Amelia playing poker. "Something is wrong here."

"What is it?" Amelia asked as she dealt Andrew another hand. "Is my daughter having another problem?"

"It's nothing to do with Selina!" Charlotte cried. "The power is out! Haven't you noticed?"

Amelia then looked up from the cards. "Oh, my goodness, you're right. How could I not have noticed that?"

"Well, the fact that the glow we have allowed us to keep seeing our hands as we played probably stopped you from noticing it," Andrew said and put down his cards. "What do you think did it? A power outage?"

"No," Charlotte shook her head. "I thought about that, but then I saw the corner of the wall in the living room. There are dark stains by the wall."

"So?" Amelia asked. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, as you know, in life, while Giuseppe studied his vampires, I studied ghosts," Charlotte told her. "And according to some of the research I read, the energy that ghosts give off can bring other ghosts in, even ones that don't belong. Having even just one ghost in the place puts a sign over it that says 'Here is a good place for ghosts. Please come'."

"And you think someone else has?" Amelia asked.

"Yes," Charlotte nodded. "And I think it's someone bad. Someone who's up to no good."

"Wonderful," Andrew sighed. "Just great. What do we do? Do you think Christine an Matthew are in danger?"

"No, I don't think this new ghost is interested in them specifically, and that they're _more_ in danger from Selina and Amelia."

"Hey!" Amelia cried. "I'm standing right here!"

"Don't you act like I'm wrong," Charlotte told her. "You're still very transparent that way."

"I'm always transparent!" Amelia cried. "I'm a fucking ghost!"

Then she disappeared before Charlotte could respond and Andrew said, "All right, Charlotte. You keep watching out for this dangerous new person and _I_ am going to go make sure we don't have another one."

"All right, you do that," Charlotte told him. "Good luck."

"You too," Andrew told her. "Be safe." Then he disappeared, and all the while, Matthew and Christine struggled to get the power back on until they finally gave up, found flashlights, and after leaving the house, headed to Roxie's.


	9. No Reason To Worry

"Why did you invite your father and Christine to stay with us?" Elijah asked Selina as he came into the kitchen to get another beer for Matthew.

"Because the power went out at their house and it's still not back on yet," Selina told him. "And I want to show my father how okay I am with this."

"Yes, all right, but did you ever stop to consider how your decision would affect _me?_ " Elijah wanted to know.

"I would have asked, but you would have just refused me," Selina pointed out. "And after all the crap I put up with from your father, do you _really_ think it would kill you to play host to my father for a bit? Please?"

"Fine," Elijah sighed. "But I don't think I've ever been so inconvenienced in my life."

"How are you being inconvenienced?" Selina asked. "There's more than enough room for the two of them here."

"Well, yes, I realize that," Elijah replied. "But with him here, how will you and I…you know?"

"Just like any other time," Selina replied. "My dad knows what sex is. It won't put him off. And we need to be loud, too, so that our noise eclipses whatever the hell they're doing."

"Ah, so…not going the subtle route, I see," Elijah said. "Nice to know that you're not being entirely mature about this. I was beginning to feel childish."

"I think you and I both know who the one more apt to be childish is between the two of us," Selina replied and took the beer from him. "I admit it freely. And I'll take that to my dad. You can go hide out in your office if you want."

"Thank you," Elijah told her. "But will everything be okay out here if I'm not supervising you?"

"Of course," Selina nodded. "You think that if I was going to kill Christine, I would do it while my father was sitting right next to her and could stop me? The only way I'm gonna learn to be okay with this (or at least used to it) is if I face it head on."

"All right," Elijah nodded. "I suppose you have a good point." He kissed her. "Good luck."

As he headed out of the kitchen, Matthew poked his head in. "Are you out of beer?" He asked. "Cause if you are, I wouldn't mind having something more accessible."

"No, we've got some," Selina replied as she held out the bottle for him to see. "Elijah and I were just talking. Sorry about that. Did Christine want something too, or did you just come in here to ask what was taking so long with your beer?"

"No, Christine is fine," Matthew told her as they headed to the living room. "And thank you so much for letting us stay here. I know it's still a bit awkward for you to be around the both of us, but I'm very proud of you for making the effort to adapt to the situation."

"You're welcome," Selina told him. "It's my pleasure." She then looked at Christine. "Can I get you something?" She asked. "Or are you good?"

"I'm good, thank you," Christine replied, looking at Selina with a very guarded expression. "Thanks for letting us come over." She then got up and headed to the kitchen with her new stepdaughter.

"You're welcome," Selina told her. "I just wanted you to know that you're still welcome here, even though your place in the family has changed. Oh, and I'm washing the sheets and blankets for your bedroom right now so you'll be able to sleep on clean ones tonight."

"That's very kind," Christine said. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Selina said again.

They stood in silence for a few minutes cause they didn't know what else to say and then Christine turned on her heel and left the kitchen without another word.

When Selina got back to the living room, Christine stood up from the sofa and said, "I think I'll go talk to Dad, Matthew, so you and Selina can talk without me being in the way."

"All right," Matthew nodded. "If that's what you want."

Christine then turned to Selina. "Is he in his office?"

"Yep," Selina nodded. "You know how to get access in there."

"Uh-huh," Christine said and then headed out, leaving Matthew and Selina alone.

"I'm very proud of you," Matthew told her. "I know I said as much in the kitchen, but I really want you to know that I'm not unaware of the effort you're making by inviting Christine and me here, and that I'm very grateful for it."

"It's no problem," Selina told him. "Really. I understand that Christine makes you happy, is part of your life now, and won't go away, no matter how disapproving I am, so I might as well get used to her because I don't want to put you in a place where you have to pick me or her. After all you've gone through, that's not really fair."

"Thank you for understanding," Matthew nodded and gave her a hug while kissing her hair. "You have no idea how much easier that makes things for me."

* * *

"I'm very surprised that Selina let us stay here," Christine told Matthew as they got ready for bed. Despite the fact that Selina's welcoming attitude seemed genuine, she couldn't get rid of the nagging doubt that Matthew's daughter was up to something. "It was generous for her to make the offer and all, but I still feel weird. Do you think we should just go find a hotel?"

"Are you worried that she invited you here so she could kill you in your sleep?" Matthew asked. "I know she has a history of that sort of thing in her past, but I really feel she's over it now and you have nothing to worry about."

"I hope so," Christine replied, but then pulled a small pistol out of her purse that was settled on her bedside. "Even so, I'm keeping this within arms' reach at all times. It won't kill her, but I know it will hurt."

Matthew looked at her in shock. "Christine, my god! That's my _daughter_ you're thinking of shooting!"

"Don't worry," Christine assured him. "I'll only shoot if she hurts me first. That's okay, right?"

"No!" Matthew shook his head and took the gun away. "It's _not_ okay for Selina to hurt you, and it's _not_ okay for you to hurt _her._ If something happens, there are better ways to deal with it than violence."

"All right," Christine sighed. "I'm sorry. I guess…I guess I'm still a little jumpy and nervous about this whole situation since Selina's still got many reasons to dislike me."

Matthew hugged her. "I understand that you're nervous," he told her. "But would you trust me if I told you that you have nothing to worry about? I'll even sleep on the side of the bed by the door if it will make you feel safer."

"Yeah, that really would," Christine nodded and climbed into bed. "Do you think I'm being silly?"

"I understand why you're nervous," Matthew told her as he got in beside her and gave her a kiss. "But we _will_ make it through the night okay. Do you trust me enough to believe that?"

"Of course I trust you," Christine nodded. "I _always_ trust you."

"Good," Matthew nodded and put his arm around her as she closed her eyes after he clapped the light out. "Good night."

"Good night," Christine replied. "See you in the morning, hopefully."

* * *

"Look at that!" Amelia said to Andrew as they stood in the doorway of Christine and Matthew's room. "She has a gun and she says she's gonna shoot Selina with it! Why I just wanna take that woman by the neck and-" She made a violent twisting motion.

"Nothing says 'Happy family gathering' like everyone in the house trying to kill one another," Andrew said dryly. "Didn't you hear her say that she'd only shoot if Selina started things with her first? That's not entirely unfair."

"You of all people should know that when people shoot and claim self-defense, they don't always wait to actually be hurt," Amelia chided Andrew. "Didn't the man who shot you do it without a good reason?"

Andrew sighed. "You have a point. Oh, why did we come here when we could have just stayed back at the other house? It would have been so quiet and peaceful."

" _And_ dark," Amelia added. "What in the world do you expect to accomplish in the dark?"

Andrew chuckled, came up behind her, and pulled her to him from the back. "I could think of a few things," he whispered in her ear. "Especially since we're becoming such good friends now." He then moved his hands down onto her bottom and Amelia giggled and said, "Oh, you stop! You're a very bad man! It's very ungentlemanly of you to handle me like this." But she cocked her head to give Andrew better access to her neck, and although she hadn't really felt his gentle kiss from before, she _really_ felt it now.

He then pulled her hair out of its up-do and began to play with it. "You have such pretty hair," he told her. "I like it better down like this so I can play with it."

Amelia eased herself out of his grip then and for a moment, Andrew thought she was pulling away again. To his surprise, though, she turned around, kissed him, and ran her hands over his scruffy cheeks. "You never really did like shaving much, did you?" She asked.

"No," he shook his head the feeling of her hands against his face giving him as many shivers as she had. "Not really. Even if it does make me look like a bit of a beast."

Amelia smiled then, kissing him as a sound escaped from her throat and her arms went around his neck. "Maybe that's why I like it," she said with a smile as she pulled away and shook out her hair. "I like you looking wild."

"I never realized that," Andrew told her. "You always scolded me for being unkempt."

"I know," Amelia nodded. "But sometimes you have to read between the lines, don't you?"

Andrew pulled her close to him, picked her up, and took her through a wall to another room. "There," he told her. "Now we have privacy."

"Now I know why my mother never let me be alone with you," Amelia told him. "She knew things that I didn't."

"Oh, stop that," Andrew replied. "You knew them too, and you didn't care. That's why she was so worried."

"Perhaps," Amelia nodded and lay her head on his shoulder. "But the good thing is we're free to do whatever we want now, and we don't have to worry about her anymore."

"Amen," Andrew replied, the sound of his voice muffled as he busied himself with smelling the scent of her hair.


	10. After The Visit

"Mom, what's going on?" Damon asked Charlotte as she showed up at him and Lucy's again.

"I need to look up some ghost lore," Charlotte told him. "Is there any chance my old books are still around?"

"Our library is _full_ of old books," Lucy replied. "You want me to take you there and show them to you?"

"I would like that," Charlotte nodded. "Thank you, Lucy." The three of them went to the library and Charlotte looked over all the books, breathing a sigh of relief that a lot of what she needed had been saved. She took a few of the books and sat down at a table, passing one to Lucy while she looked in another.

"What's going on?" Damon repeated. "Would you tell me now, please?"

"A dark spirit showed up at Matthew Warren's house," Charlotte told him. "I don't know who it is or why it came in the first place, and I think it would be for the best if Andrew, Amelia, and I made it all disappear."

"Well, if you need some help, just let me know," Damon told her.

"All right," his mother told him. "If I can think of a way for you to help, I will."

Lucy and Charlotte busied themselves with reading then while Damon sat near them, his bourbon in hand.

"Find anything yet?" He asked his mother after a while.

"Nothing that I didn't already know," she said in dismay. "I knew that having ghosts in a place can make it easier for others to come, even if they have nothing to do with the place itself. But I haven't found anything about how to get rid of them."

"What about an exorcism?" Damon asked. "I would have thought that would be pretty obvious."

"Ghosts can't perform exorcisms for other ghosts!" Charlotte cried. "That would be dangerous for everyone! You'd be getting rid of the good _and_ the bad."

"I see your point," Damon told her. "I'll stop trying to help now, since the two of you seem more on top of this than I am."

"Thank you," Charlotte told him. "But I appreciate you trying to help."

"I do what I can," Damon replied.

"If you want something to do, why don't you go check on Mom?" Lucy suggested. "I bet she's still drinking a ton."

"I don't know if your uncle would like that," Damon told her. "You remember what happened last time."

"Well, that was just one time," Lucy said. "Maybe things have changed now."

"If you want me out of the house, just say so," Damon told her. "You don't have to make up a bunch of useless errands for me to do."

"They aren't useless errands," Lucy told him. "I really _do_ think that going to see Mom would help her. What do you think, Charlotte?"

"I agree," Charlotte replied. "And if her husband is drinking too, you won't be met with much resistance, I'd imagine."

"You've never really _met_ Selina's husband, have you?" Damon asked.

"No, but I still think you'd do some good," Charlotte told him firmly.

"Oh, all right, I'll go," Damon told her. "But if I fail, I'm coming back."

"All right," Charlotte called. "Good luck."

* * *

"Are you all right?" Andrew asked Selina as she stumbled into the kitchen. She looked like she hadn't slept for days.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Selina told him. "Well, not really, actually. I'm trying to be fine, but it's not working. Say something to take my mind off of the fact that Dad is married to my stepdaughter."

"Well, your mother and I have made a lot of positive progress," Andrew replied.

"Positive progress toward what?" Selina asked. "Did you manage to give her a heart like in the Wizard of Oz?"

"I think she's improved a lot," Andrew nodded. "She was very upset when she saw that Christine had a gun in her purse and wanted to shoot you."

"She _what_?" Selina asked, her eyes wide. "What the hell? To think I let her stay in my house and eat my food and stuff like that. Shows you what hospitality is worth these days. And you're supposed to be telling me stuff to keep my mind _off_ of that."

"All right," Andrew nodded. "How about this: I think I'm in love with your mother again."

"There was a time when you weren't?" Selina asked. "I thought it was an on-going thing?"

"Well, more or less, I suppose," Andrew nodded. "But with the attitude she had and her habit of pushing people away, it sort of made the feelings fade, you know?"

"Oh, yes," Selina nodded. "The attitude made it hard for _me_ to love her too. You're talking to someone who knows. Believe me." She paused. "So…you're in love with her again."

"Yes," Andrew nodded. "How do you feel about that? I know that adjusting to what your father has done has been very hard for you, and I don't want you to have the same difficulties with what's going on with your mother and me?"

"Oh, I can handle you and Mama," Selina assured him. "You probably think that I didn't pick up on feelings between you two when I was a kid, but I did."

"You did?" Andrew asked in surprise. "How?"

"Well, I remember that some of the only times I saw her happy were when she would ship me off with you and Aunt Abigail, and then when she came to pick me up, she'd be all happy, unlike when she was at home. I thought it was because she was coming to get me, but…I think you and I both know she was glad to be in your company. And let's not forget how the two of you were glued to each other's hips after Granny and Granddaddy Lockwood passed away. I almost thought things were gonna be good forever at that point."

"Yes, and then I died and that spoiled everything," Andrew nodded. "I know all this. Your mother made sure to tell me every time she and I were in the same room together."

"I don't blame you," Selina told him. "You did the best you could with a woman who was a lot to deal with and had a lot to deal with. Especially after Charlotte died, if it hadn't been for you, she wouldn't have had anyone." She paused. "Well, she had me. But since I was a kid, I couldn't do much for her."

"Now hold on," Andrew told her. "How many times did you run to Doctor Stensrund's after you found your mother hurt?"

"More than I should have," Selina replied.

"Exactly," Andrew told her. "You did as much for your mother as I did. Even more, I would say. It wasn't just me."

"Thank you," Selina nodded. "I hope you and Mama are really able to go somewhere this time. I think it would be good for her."

"Yes," Andrew nodded. "I do too."

"With that in mind, I have something I need to do real quick," Selina told him. "This was a nice talk we had, and I really do feel better."

"Good," Andrew told her. "I'm glad I could help."

It was as Selina made her way past the front door that she heard the knock. Retying her bathrobe, she opened the door and saw Damon on the other side.

"Hello," she said to him. "What can I do for you?"

"Nothing," Damon said. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay and not incapacitated from drinking."

"No, I'm actually good," Selina told him. "I'm really trying to be better about what's going on with my dad and Christine, and I've decided that drinking too much just makes it worse."

"Good," Damon said and stepped inside. "Ignoring my advice is probably the best thing you could do. What are you going to do now?"

"I'm gonna get dressed, shower, and then invite Roxie, Lucy, and Adrian over," Selina told him. "Since my mom and Uncle Andrew are in love again and it makes me feel sort of weird, I want to make apologies for any weird feelings that _they_ had when I decided to divorce Klaus and marry Elijah. I think they deserve that. Would Lucy be able to come, or is she busy?"

"She and my mother are looking up ways to get rid of dark spirits, since one apparently came through the portal at your dad's and Mother is convinced that it's out to cause harm," Damon said and sat down. "But I'm sure Mother would give her some time off if she knew what it was for."

"All right," Selina nodded. "I'll invite Lucy too, then."

"I'm not gonna have to worry about Elijah showing up, am I?" Damon asked. "Where is he?"

"I think he went out with Alistair or something," Selina replied. "He's still recovering from when I invited my father and Christine to stay without asking him."

"Ah," Damon nodded. "All right."

* * *

"How does Astrid do it?" Elijah asked as he sat in Amanda and Viktor's living room. "How does she look at the two of you and handle it with such grace? I can't even handle Christine and Matthew in the same room! At least not without a stiff drink!"

"I guess I'm just lucky to have a very tolerant daughter who's seen it all so that nothing fazes her," Viktor shrugged.

"I've been around a thousand years. You'd _think_ that I'd be able to say that I've seen it all by now," Elijah said. "But apparently not."

"Is part of why you're upset how Mom is reacting?" Amanda asked. "If she was okay with what was going on, do you think it would be easy for you too?"

"It's possible," Elijah nodded. "But I really don't know. I guess I can just be glad that they aren't at the house anymore. That'll help me pull myself back together."

"I hope so," Amanda told him. "But remember, if it fails and you need help, we'll be here."

"Good," Elijah nodded. "Cause I have no doubt I'll be back again." He told them goodbye and went home, finding Selina dressed and setting out place settings at the kitchen table. "What's going on?" He asked. "Don't tell me you've invited your father and Christine over again."

"No," Selina shook her head. "This time, it's Lucy, Adrian, and Roxanne. I just found out that my mother and Uncle Andrew decided to give their relationship another shot, and as I feel a bit odd about it, I want to take this time to apologize to my kids for any weird feelings that divorcing Klaus and marrying you might have caused them."

"That shouldn't take very long," Elijah said. "From what I remember, Roxanne was really the only one who had issues with it."

"True," Selina nodded. "But I just want to be sure, okay?"

"All right," Elijah replied and kissed her cheek. "I'll be in my office if you need me."

* * *

"Why are we all here, Mom?" Adrian asked as he sat between his sisters across from Selina at the kitchen table about half an hour later and they all reached for cookies from a plate at the center of the table. "What's the matter? Is something wrong?"

"No," Selina shook her head. "I just found out that my uncle is in love with my mom, and it feels weird, and I wanted to take this time to apologize to the three of you and thank you for being such troopers when I decided to divorce your dad and move in with your uncle, cause you probably felt the same way I do right now."

"Your mother is in love with someone? I thought she was dead!" Roxie cried.

"She is," Lucy told her sister. "But she's a ghost now, and so is Uncle Andrew. They're both haunting Grandpa Matthew's house."

"How in the world do you know that?" Adrian asked her.

"Cause Damon's mom's also come back from the dead and we see her from time to time," Lucy told her brother, a grin wide on her face. "It's _awesome_."

"Damn it, I wanna see ghosts too!" Adrian huffed. "How come nothing interesting ever happens to _me_?"

"I guess that means you probably don't want to hear about Liam dealing with the ghost of a criminal that he killed?" Roxie asked. "It's threatened his life, you know."

"Yeah, I know that," Adrian said. "That's why he and Mary are camping out with Savannah and Jonathan for a bit, although they said they might come by and see _us_ soon too. Now that's the kind of excitement I could do without."

"Me too," Lucy replied.

"And me three," Roxie finished.

"So…are we good here?" Selina asked. "Do we all feel peachy keen, jelly bean?"

"Yes, Mom," the three of them said at once.

"Do you need us to ask you how _you_ feel?" Adrian added.

"No," Selina told him as he came around to give her a hug. "I'm fine."

"If not, your seat at the bar is always open," Roxie told her.

"And Charlotte's concerned about you," Lucy said. "Should I tell her you're fine?"

"Go ahead," Selina told her. "She probably won't believe you, though." The kids left then, and Selina sat at the table for a few minutes before going to Elijah's office to see if he'd let her have some of that scotch he usually only kept for himself.

* * *

"I hope you don't mind," Andrew told Amelia. "But I've mentioned our new domestic arrangement to Selina."

"You did?" Amelia asked. "How did she take it?"

"She seemed fine," Andrew replied. "Glad to know that you were finally doing what made you happy. She mainly just wondered why it took us so long."

"How sweet of her," Amelia said. "I thought she never wanted me to be happy."

"What would make you say that?" Andrew asked. "Because she didn't often do what you told her to when she was a child? That was completely different and I honestly don't blame her for fighting you as much as she did."

"Well, especially during her teenage years, if I didn't fight with her, I didn't have much else to do with my time," Amelia pointed out. "The slaves did everything around the house, you were dead, Charlotte was dead, Matthew was gone...Selina was the one person I could focus my attention on. I know it was unhealthy and caused her to resent me horribly, but what else could I do?"

"I'm sure you could have thought of something," Andrew replied. "Like sitting down and having a nice conversation about everything you two were fighting about? Wht fight when you can get along?"

"Cause that's more exciting," Amelia replied.

"Is that why you picked fights with me?" Andrew asked.

"I was never the one who picked fights," Amelia countered. "It was always you that picked fights. I just responded."

"I had my reasons," Andrew said. "I just wanted to get you used to expressing emotions like anger. That was my goal and I really think you're a better person for it."

"Yes," Amelia nodded and leaned toward him. "Keeping all your emotions inside...it's not good."

"No," Andrew shook his head. "It really isn't."

Then their lips met as they pulled each other close, and nothing else seemed to matter.


	11. The Only Sad One At The Party

"So you and Amelia are pretty happy?" Matthew asked Andrew. "She has no ill will toward me anymore?"

"I shouldn't think so," Andrew shook his head. "Your daughter is another story; I think we have some more work to do with her, but I believe I have removed the Amelia threat."

"Good!" Matthew smiled. "That makes me very happy. Now maybe Christine and I can have a more public celebration of our marriage. We've only eloped, you know, and I can't say I'm really comfortable with that. I need more! And thanks to you, brother, I'll have it." He smiled widely and Andrew patted him on the back.

"Anything I can do to make you happy, including make out with your former wife behind your back," he told him.

"In all honesty, I always knew she had more feelings for you," Matthew told him. "It was just that with her mother being as obstinate as she was, there was nothing I could do about that without getting all three of us in terrible trouble."

"Well, that makes you a better man than me, but I think we both know that," Andrew replied. "I would have been the one encouraging Amelia to run off with me and just show some emotion and every other thing that her mother told her she couldn't do, regardless of what the consequences for her would be. Of course, if we'd just run off together when we planned, anything her mother said later wouldn't have been a problem."

"You know, I always wonder if I would have been happier if you'd run off with Amelia or not," Matthew told him. "I mean, I don't think either of us really wanted to get married and just did it to please our parents."

"Well, _of course_ you did it to please others," Andrew told him. "I did the same thing with Abbie."

"But things with you and Abigail were happy enough, weren't they?" Matthew asked. "I mean, you at least _liked_ her, didn't you?"

"Of course I liked her," Andrew nodded. "After how emotionally Amelia always reacted to everything, Abbie's calm nature was a nice change, at least for a little while. But then she died and I was back to having a choice of being alone for the rest of my life or going against my better judgment and pursuing your wife again." He paused. "You don't think I'm horrible for that, do you?"

"Oh, no, of course not!" Matthew shook his head. "Since I was either too cowardly or too foolish to return to her after what happened to me, I…I'm grateful that you stepped in until I was able to come back. And I showed up just in time, too. I think if I'd waited any longer, I would have been without a wife _and_ a daughter."

"And then you did what?" Andrew wanted to know. "Gave her your blood, killed her, and then the two of you lived unhappily ever after?"

"Not the _whole_ time," Matthew told him. "It was just when Selina made the choice to finally embrace her werewolf side regardless of what Amelia thought that things got really bad and Amelia became an angry and bitter person again."

"Yes," Andrew nodded. "People not doing exactly what she wants of them tends to make Amelia be sour. Or at least it did before now. I think we've finally managed to reach the point where she no longer cares, which means that if you and Christine want to get married, you should do it now, before her mood changes. Cause it could at any time."

"Oh, you don't have to warn me about this," Matthew told him. "And we're planning on it."

"Are you going to tell your daughter?" Andrew asked.

"Part of me thinks it's a bad idea, and part of me thinks I should," Matthew told him. "What do _you_ think?"

"I think that you're gonna tell her what you and Christine plan to do regardless of what I have to say, but making Selina come, even if she offers, is a bad idea," Andrew told her.

"I think you're right on all counts," Matthew agreed. "She's trying so hard to accept what I did cause she wants me to be happy, but I can tell it's not genuine and it probably never will be, so why push it?"

"Why indeed?" Andrew nodded. "Why, indeed."

* * *

"Don't worry," Matthew told Selina as he ushered her into his house while Jack and Zeke nipped at her heels. "Christine's not here. She's out shopping for a party we're going to have."

"Oh?" Selina asked, eyebrow going up and eyes widening just a little. "What _sort_ of party?"

"Something I don't think you'd be comfortable coming to," Matthew replied. "Now that your uncle seems to have calmed your mother down, Christine and I, after a long discussion, decided we wanted to have a more public celebration of our marriage. I understand that you object to what we did, so I won't request that you come, but I thought I'd let you know that it's a week from this upcoming Saturday if you want to."

There was a long silence and then Selina got out, "Well, if I'm going to make the cake, I have come, don't I?"

"You mean come long enough to drop off the cake?" Matthew asked. "It's sweet of you to offer to do such a thing, but you really don't need to. I appreciate that you're bending over backwards to try and show me that you support what I'm doing with Christine and that you just want me to be happy, but when my fiancée is threatening to shoot my daughter cause you're both threatened by each other's presence in my life, I think it's time for us all to step away, at least for a little while."

"Does that mean you don't want me to see you anymore?" Selina asked, her lip jutting out a little."

"No, that's not what it means at all," Matthew replied, hugging her. "It means we'll just have to plan times to see each other when Christine's not around, that's all. I couldn't ban you from my house. That would make me very unhappy, and although Zeke and Jack love Christine, I think they'd miss you too much if you never came over again."

"All right," Selina nodded. "That seems fair. But I'm still dropping off a cake anyway. Talk to Christine about what you want, give me a call, and then when it's done, I'll bring it over the day of the party. Are you having it here, did you say?"

"Yes," Matthew nodded. "I think we'll be having it here. We have enough space, so I really don't see a reason to have it anywhere else."

* * *

" _It's time to get up now, sir," said a sharp voice from the other side of Matthew Warren's bedroom door. The small calendar on his bedside table was the first thing he saw as he opened his eyes. It was just a few days before Christmas, 1845, and he was getting married. The thought didn't make him happy, however. Instead, he stayed in his bed, the covers over his head to keep him warm after he cast a dismayed glance at the frosted over windows._

" _Did you hear me, sir?" His manservant asked as he advanced into the room and pulled the blankets off Matthew while he tried not to shiver under his thin night shirt since his fire head gone out and his bed warmer had cooled. "You have to get up so we can dress you. Mr. Lockwood and his son have arrived to go with you, your parents, and your brother to the church. You don't want to keep them waiting, do you? I don't know why I let you sleep so long. Luckily for you, your brother has offered to entertain them while I get you dressed so you're not in as much trouble as you would think."_

" _Oh, all right," Matthew sighed and got out of bed. "No use in prolonging the inevitable, I guess."_

 _They then made him up a bath (the water had already been warming on the stove for some time) and then after he'd been washed, his manservant helped him dress in his best suit and then led him out to the living room where Amelia's father and brother and the rest of his own family sat waiting._

" _I apologize for being late," he said, bowing slightly. "On mornings as cold as this, it's sometimes very hard to convince yourself to get out of bed."_

" _Oh, that's all right," Amelia's brother said before his father (who had the beginnings of a frown on his face) could speak. "Your brother was entertaining us with the most amusing stories while you were getting ready."_

" _But now that you're here," His father added, his tone firmer and sharper, "Let's get going, shall we? My wife and daughter have to be wondering where we are, and they might even be starting to wonder if there won't be any wedding at all!"_

 _So they all trudged out to the carriage and tried not to shiver too much while being grateful that they wouldn't be driving very long before they arrived at the church. When they reached it, Amelia's mother approached them all and said, "I was beginning to think you weren't coming."_

" _It's my fault, ma'am," Matthew told her. "I slept late this morning and made us late."_

 _Amelia's mother gave a dismissive sniff and said, "You'd think a man would be more eager on his wedding day, especially if he was marrying someone as beautiful as my daughter."_

" _I'm sorry, ma'am," Matthew said quietly. "And send my apologies to Amelia also."_

" _I will," her mother said and then strode away._

 _Following that very awkward exchange, Andrew took Matthew into a corner and said, "You're very brave to do this, facing them and all. If I were marrying Amelia, I'd just run off with her."_

" _I know," Matthew nodded. "You tried that some years ago, remember?"_

" _Yes," Andrew nodded. "I know I did."_

" _Where's Abigail today?" Matthew asked him. "I thought for sure you'd bring your own fiancee."_

" _She had to stay home because her mother is ill," Andrew explained. "And it's kind of a lucky thing, too. I don't see Amelia handling her presence well. Think about that when Abigail and I finally marry."_

 _Matthew nodded. "I will."_

 _They then took only a few minutes more before they began the wedding. When Matthew finally got a look at Amelia in her dress, he had to admit that she was beautiful, but as he lifted her veil to kiss her, he saw that she had tears in her eyes. He tried to tell himself that she was crying cause she was so happy about being married but he knew that that wasn't the case. She was just as upset about this marriage as he was, but like him, she would go through with it anyway, just to please her parents, so at least_ someone _would be happy about it. With any luck, it wouldn't take them long to conceive a child, and then if she died in childbirth, it would be a way out for both of them so they wouldn't have to continue with this charade anymore. The sad part about it was that they both didn't really mind each other, they just knew that they would be better as siblings by marriage than husband and wife. But their parents had their plans, and because of those plans, the right thing for Amelia and Matthew would never be done._

"Hey, Selina's here with the cake. Where should I tell her to put it?"

Matthew turned around from the mirror of Amelia's dresser at the sound of Christine's voice and then came over to the doorway of their bedroom to hug her. "It's very sweet of you to ask, but I'll tell her. You just relax."

"Well, aren't you sweet?" Christine smiled and kissed him. Then he went to the kitchen, finding his daughter standing next to a magnificent white frosted, three-layer cake.

"Is this good enough for this soiree?" Selina asked.

"Oh, it's _more_ than good enough," Matthew replied with a smile, taking her in his arms and giving her a hug and kiss of her own. "Thanks for going to all the trouble."

"It was no trouble at all," Selina replied. "I hope you and your guests enjoy it. And Daddy…I'm glad you're finally happy."

"Thank you," Matthew nodded. "I can't say that I was on my first wedding day, even though someone really wonderful came from that, but now…now I can say that I am."

Selina gave him one last smile before leaving the house, getting in her car, and heading back home, where Elijah was waiting for her by the door and took her in his arms to hold her.

"So you didn't stay," he said as she hugged him back. "I hoped you wouldn't."

"I thought about it," Selina admitted. "But I didn't want to ruin Daddy and Christine's day by being the only one at the party who wasn't truly happy for them. Well, of course I'm happy for them, but…you know what I mean."

"Yes, I do," Elijah nodded and kissed her hair. "I know cause I feel the same way. Why don't we have a drink and then work on forgetting about it."

"All right," Selina nodded as she slipped her arm around his waist and then they headed for his office. "Can I have some of the fancy scotch you have hidden in your office?"

Elijah raised an eyebrow. "I didn't even know you were a scotch person!"

Selina shrugged. "When I'm in a certain mood, it all tastes the same to me."

Elijah rolled his eyes in response and took her in his office where they indeed drank his scotch and then went to bed, and although it didn't entirely make Selina forget about her father and Christine, having her warm bare skin against Elijah's as they held each other close and he nibbled at her neck was a pretty good time anyway, and she wasn't gonna try and pull away from it.


	12. What Should Have Been

"How was Matthew's wedding party?" Amelia asked Andrew dryly. "You never told me."

"Oh, you would have hated it," Andrew said. "Boring people, lousy drinks…the cake was good. Selina was kind enough to make it and she knows what she's doing. And Andrew looked awfully happy, too."

"Well, good for him," Amelia nodded. "But that wouldn't surprise me. Anything would have been a step up from _our_ wedding day. We were both plenty upset then. The whole time we were being married, I was praying for a quick pregnancy and that I would die in childbirth. Cause Mother couldn't do anything about that."

"Well, I think that it was a blessing in disguise that you made it through Selina's birth," Andrew told her as he pulled her to himself. "Think about what you and I got to do since you pulled through? You got to see your parents die and then do whatever the hell you wanted. I was awfully proud of you for being so brave."

"Yes," Amelia nodded. "That was a good day. I couldn't believe what I'd done afterward. I hadn't even been drinking before I did it. Did that surprise you?"

"Yes," Andrew admitted. "But was glad for it. How much do you remember?"

"A lot," Amelia replied. "When I allow myself."

" _I'm sorry about this," Andrew told Amelia as the two of them looked at her parents' grave, freshly dug as the newest additions to the Mystic Falls Cemetery. They were both buried together and their large stone said nothing but their names: Nathaniel Lockwood, 1792-1857 and Rose Lockwood, 1798-1857._

" _That house fire was a terrible shock," Amelia said, her eyes wide and her voice solemn. "I didn't see it coming at all."_

 _Andrew hugged her. "It was a terrible shock to everyone."_

" _Would you do me a favor?" Amelia asked. "Would you come and stay with me? I don't feel good being alone."_

" _Of course," Andrew nodded and led her back to the carriage. "I would be more than happy to take you home."_

 _They sat close to each other in the carriage, and when they got back to Amelia's house, she took hold of Andrew, gave him a kiss, and then slowly began to undress him, breathing heavily and giving him a penetrating glance. When he stood bare before here, he put his forehead against hers and then after holding her against him, undressed her, running his hands over the knife scars on her arms, evidence of the terrible anger against herself because of her abusive husband, and her parents, who wouldn't let her fight back. "You're beautiful," he told her. "I've never seen a more beautiful woman." Then, he carried her off to bed, and to his surprise, she didn't resist him, but threw her arms around his neck, letting him just hold her for several minutes without holding back or any words of protest before she parted her legs, and as he took her for the first time, let out a cry of ecstasy that he never thought he would hear from her, the grin wide on her face._

 _Afterward, as they lay beside one another trying to control their breathing, she said to him. "That was wonderful. It feels good when you actually like the person you go to bed with."_

" _It's so sweet of you to say," Andrew told her. "I like you too."_

" _But I wouldn't get so attached if I were you," Amelia told him. "Think of what's happened with the men in my life: your brother married me, then he died. I married Robert Pierce and he went off to jail…you continue on with me like this and something bad might happen to you too."_

" _Nothing that happened to my brother or Robert Pierce was your fault," Andrew told her firmly. "It was their own choices that got them where they are and you shouldn't shoulder any of the blame."_

" _I know," Amelia nodded. "I know, but…I can't help but feel a bit unlucky."_

" _Well, I'm just going to have to prove you wrong then, aren't I?" Andrew asked her and took her hand. "Will you marry me?"_

" _What?" Amelia asked, her eyes wide with shock. "Are you serious? You can't really mean that."_

" _Why would I ask if I didn't really mean it?" Andrew wanted to know. "Plus, I really don't think we should do this too many more times without me at least making some sort of promise to make an honest woman out of you. I do have_ some _gentlemanly instincts, regardless of what your mother always thought."_

" _Well, I would hope so," Amelia replied. "Now, about your proposal. I would love to, but…"_

" _But what?" Andrew asked. "Whatever the problem is, I'm sure we can fix it."_

" _I just…you're going to think I'm incredibly stupid for worrying about this, but…I don't know what to do about Selina," Amelia told him. "What if she reacts badly to us getting married?"_

" _If you want my honest opinion, I really don't think there's anything to worry about," Andrew told her. "In fact, I'm sure she'd find the stability very pleasant."_

" _I don't doubt that," Amelia nodded. "I haven't exactly been able to give her the best home life over the last ten years, have I?"_

" _Well, better you send her from house to house of people who will care for her than keep her home with you all the time where she could have been even more hurt than she was," Andrew replied. "But I_ will _talk to her and see what she says if it will allay your worry."_

" _It will," Amelia nodded and gave him a kiss. "Thank you very much."_

Andrew smiled as Amelia finished telling him the story and proving that she remembered it all. "I would have thought you'd forgotten."

"Well, like I said," Amelia shrugged. "I remember a lot when I allow myself to." She paused. "It's a good thing we're not alive so the whole idea of us having another go at getting married is impossible. You see how badly Selina is handling what's going on with your brother. If she had to deal with us too, it would probably be just as bad."

"I don't think so," Andrew shook his head. "I remember her being very excited at the prospect of us getting married. And don't take this the wrong way, but she's handling Matthew's marriage badly because she feels like Christine gets to have the sort of relationship and closeness with him that she never got to have on account of his going off to war and being a vampire and things like that. She doesn't have to worry about that sort of thing with you. She was excited about us being married before, if I remember."

"She was?" Amelia asked. "I don't remember that at all."

"I do," Andrew nodded.

" _It's going to be all right," Andrew assured Amelia. "You don't have to worry. I'll handle telling Selina the news with the utmost care. And the girl is ten. It's not like we have to tread incredibly carefully."_

" _Just don't be blunt with it," Amelia warned. "Selina's already been through so much and I don't want this to be another in the long line of disappointments that is her life."_

 _A few minutes later, they heard the front door open and the sound of feet running through the front door. "Mama?" Called a voice. "Mama, Giuseppe said you wanted to see me, so I ran all the way over here. What's the news? Have you hurt yourself again? Do I need to go get Doctor Stensrund?"_

" _No, dear," Amelia told her. "I'm in the first floor sitting room with your uncle Andrew and we have something we want to speak to you about."_

" _Oh," the girl's voice replied. "All right."_

" _And be careful of running," Amelia warned. "We don't want you to slip and fall."_

 _A few minutes later, her daughter appeared, a rare smile on her face, and her big blue eyes sparkling as she ran into her uncle's arms, her light blue dress billowing around her cause of all the layers underneath it. "I'm so glad to see you!" She said and hugged him tight. "How were things in Boston? Did the law practice not do well?"_

" _It did splendidly," Andrew told her. "But I missed you and your mother, so I came back home."_

" _Oh," Selina nodded. "All right. But what will you do now?"_

" _That's what your mother and I would like to speak to you about," Andrew told her. "How would you feel about us getting married? Would that bother you?"_

" _No," Selina shook her head. "You're only asking her now, Uncle Andrew? It took you long enough. I wanted you to take her away from Robert Pierce on a white horse like they do in all the fairy tale stories."_

" _I know I should have," Andrew nodded. "But I'm ready to make up for that mistake if it's good for all of us."_

" _Of course it is," Selina smiled. "Do I get to be in the wedding?"_

"We had such plans," Amelia sighed. "And then, as usual, with my luck, everything just went horribly, _horribly_ wrong."

"All right, we're getting in a bad place," Andrew said quickly. "Let's talk about something else."

"What should we talk about?" Amelia wanted to know.

"I don't know," Andrew shrugged. "I suppose we could go over to Damon and Lucy's and see how Charlotte is handling all the ghost business."

"All right," Amelia nodded. "I suppose that's better than nothing."

* * *

"What are you two doing here?" Damon asked, a smirk on his face as both Amelia and Andrew appeared in his and Lucy's living room. "Did you get tired of hanging around Matthew and Christine?"

"Actually," Amelia told him, not taking the bait, "We want to see your mother. Is she here?"

"Yeah, she and Lucy are still in the library looking at books," Damon replied.

"And where's the library?" Amelia asked him.

Damon led her to it and when he was gone, they did indeed find Lucy and Charlotte studying away.

"Need any help?" Amelia asked, coming up behind her friend. "How are things going?"

"Not as well as I'd like them to," Charlotte told her. "I mean, it's all well and good to learn things in a book, but just doing that doesn't accomplish much. I need to be able to see someone who can actually do something about it, because it's very, very dangerous. Just because it hasn't come back here, that doesn't mean it's not out terrorizing someone else. We need to find it and let someone know who can get rid of it. Any ideas?"

"I have one, possibly," Lucy replied. "And I know who to talk to."

"Good," Charlotte smiled. "Thank you, Lucy."

"You're welcome," Lucy said to her.

Then, Charlotte looked at Andrew and Amelia. "How are you two?" She asked.

"We're not doing so bad," Amelia replied. "We've been talking, actually."

"Good," Charlotte smiled. "Wonderful."

"Would you like to come back to the house with us?" Amelia asked. "Step away from the books for a while and think about something else?"

"I think I'd like that," Charlotte nodded. "If I don't have to spend the entire time breaking up fights between the two of you, that is."

"You won't have to do that," Andrew promised her. "Don't worry."


	13. Bringing Up Baby

"So what do we do now?" Christine asked Matthew as they sat on the couch together with the dogs in their laps. "We're married, what's next?"

"Well, if we were normal people, I think we know what the next thing to discuss would be," Matthew replied. "Having children." He paused. "But since I can't…what's the point?"

"Just because you can't father children doesn't mean that's the end of the story," Christine told him. "There's adoption, and things called sperm banks where I can go and have someone else's sperm put in me to do what you can't. Would it bother you to have a kid who wasn't biologically yours?"

"I suppose not," Matthew shrugged. "The world gets more amazing every day, doesn't it?"

"Yes, it does," Christine nodded. "I'm actually really excited about this. Of course, we don't have to do it now. We can wait."

"We don't have to," Matthew said. "Unless you'd like to. It's not like when I was human and women got pregnant early."

"No," Christine shook her head. "I don't want to wait. Taking care of the dogs has gotten me used to it and now I wanna take the next step."

"Okay," Matthew nodded. "I hope you know how to do that sperm bank thing you were talking about because I have no idea about any of that."

"I do," Christine assured him and patted his leg. "Don't worry." She got on the internet to look up the sperm bank that was closest to them and then, after she found it, headed to the car and told Matthew she'd be back soon.

"So that's it?" Matthew asked. "You just go, they put the stuff in you, and that's that?"

"Yeah, just like regular sex," Christine nodded. "I might have to go more than once to get an actual baby, though."

"That's all right," Matthew assured her. "We have time. There's no rush."

But she returned only a short time later and she had a thick binder in her hands.

"What's that?" Matthew asked.

"It's a book that lists the statistics of all the donors of the particular sperm bank that I went to," Christine told him. "I thought you and I could pick out the donor that we wanted together."

"This feels a bit odd," Matthew admitted. "But all right."

It took some time, but eventually they managed to find a man who was a brown-haired, green-eyed outdoorsman who was in very good health. "I think we should go with him," Matthew said. "He sounds somewhat like me."

"You know, I was thinking that too," Christine agreed. "Now that we're on the same page, I'll go in tomorrow and get this taken care of. Would you like to come, or not?"

"Of course," Matthew nodded. "I'd love to. But we can't tell Selina about this."

"No, we can't," Christine nodded. "I've finally learned my lesson on that score. And really, how is it her business anyway?"

"It's not," Matthew said and hugged her. "It's ours. Just ours."

* * *

Selina stared confusedly as a bunch of students came into class clutching eggs a few days later. "What are those for?" She asked. "You didn't need to bring extras. We have enough."

"They aren't for baking, Ms. Warren," one of the boys told her. "We're supposed to pretend these eggs are babies."

"Oh, good heavens," Selina sighed. "I suppose you're getting graded on that?"

The class nodded and Selina said, "All right. Just be careful then and don't accidentally drop them into a frying pan or something, okay? Although I suppose, if you want, I could teach you how to make an omelet. Those are pretty easy to do. With a different set of eggs, of course." She chuckled to herself and when no one else laughed, she cleared her throat and wrote on the board what they were actually making that day, which were mini pizzas (she'd chosen that for that cause those were what she really liked as leftovers.)

After everything had cooked and all the places had been cleaned up, people began packing up their bags, and in the rush to leave, one of the girls' eggs broke. She let out a loud cry of "I'm gonna fail now!"

"No, you're not," Selina told her and brought her over to the refrigerator, pulling another egg from the carton. "Take this one. No one will know the difference."

"I'm a crappy parent!" The girl sobbed. "I killed my baby!"

"It's gonna be okay," Selina told her. "Part of being a parent is making mistakes. It happens. The important thing is that you learn from your mistakes and use them to make better choices in the future."

"Have you ever made a mistake like that?" The girl asked.

"Oh, yeah," Selina nodded. "My kids could tell you lots of stories. You'll get through the project just fine. And that's the point of this whole thing anyway: to show you how difficult being a parent is. I'm sure your teacher isn't expecting you to be absolutely perfect."

"Thank you," the student told her.

"You're welcome," Selina replied and sent the girl on her way.

* * *

When Selina and Elijah got home from school, they found an unusual car in their driveway. It was a white van and no one in Elijah's family had ever bought such a large car before. "You stay here," Elijah told Selina before taking a drink from a small bottle of alcohol that was hidden under his seat. "Some strange person has apparently tried to break into our house and I don't want you to get hurt."

"You mean well," Selina replied, stealing the bottle from him. "But I'm coming in with you cause I can fight just as well as you can." They went inside after Selina took a drink and stashed the bottle under the seat again, and just as they were about to attack the intruders, they saw their grandchildren, Elizabeth and Charlie, sitting on the sofa. Charlie had a dark-haired toddler in his lap and a wide grin on his face.

"Sorry we just let ourselves in," he apologized when he saw how startled they were. "But we thought we'd bring Christopher by so you could meet him. Is this a bad time?"

"No," Selina shook her head and came over to pat the baby's head. "No, it's totally fine. When in the heck did you get a van?"

"I didn't want to," Elizabeth said. "But Charlie insisted. Hideous thing, isn't it?"

"Well, yes," Selina nodded. "But if it's of use to you, you can't hate it too much, can you?"

"Yes, I can," Elizabeth countered. "I wanted to ask Alistair to fix up a really fancy car so that it would have a lot of space, but Charlie wouldn't let me do that."

"Well, you know that it's a bad idea to mix magic and mechanics," Charlie told her. "I didn't want to risk the car stalling in the middle of the freeway or something because magic screwed up the works. You get that right? Your father agreed with me when I asked him."

"Oh, I suppose," Elizabeth sighed. "But why did you have to pick a _white_ car? There were plenty of other ones with color on them in the car lot. You just chose the first one you saw."

"So, this is Christopher?" Elijah asked, trying to stall the argument. "He's a very handsome boy."

"He is, isn't he?" Elizabeth said, looking at her son fondly. "He had the good sense to be attached to me. He has good taste already. It's remarkable."

"Well, he's lucky to have two such committed parents," Elijah told her.

"It's funny we're seeing him now," Selina said, taking the eager little boy in her lap. "The kids in my class are learning about childcare with eggs right now."

"I wish they wouldn't have to do that all the time," Elijah sighed. "It makes it distracting to teach when they have to look at those eggs every minute and don't pay attention to what I'm saying."

"I welcomed the distraction," Selina replied. "It stopped me from thinking about how my dad and Christine will probably have kids soon or something."

"But your father was made," Elijah reminded her. "You're the only child he can have."

"At least of his own blood," Selina nodded. "There are other ways to get kids, you know."

"Oh, yes there are," Elijah sighed. "But I bet it won't be so bad."

"Probably not," Selina said. "And it's Daddy's right to have another kid if he wants one, even though he had a perfectly lovely one when he was human and then went off to war and ignored me. I hope the kid is self-sufficient. Cause if the pattern continues, they really _will_ have to raise themselves."

"What's going on?" Charlie asked. "I feel like I'm missing something."

"Well, your great-grandfather has decided to marry your half-sister," Elijah told them. "And it's a very big adjustment for us."

"Oh," Charlie nodded. "All right. Anything we can do?"

"Yeah," Selina nodded and cuddled Christopher who seemed to like her very much. "Just keep bringing this little munchkin over to visit and that could be some help."

"All right," Charlie nodded as he pushed his dark hair out of his eyes and pulled Elizabeth to him. "We will. We promise."


	14. Making Plans Of Our Own

"Are you bored?" Selina asked Elijah as they sat next to each other on the sofa of their living room. "Do you feel fulfilled?"

"Why are you asking me this?" Elijah wanted to know. "Are _you_ bored?"

"I don't know," Selina shrugged. "But it just seems like we aren't doing as many things as we used to. We lack ways to take up our time, unlike in the past where we never had that problem."

"Well, you know why that is," Elijah said. "After Amanda you told me that you didn't want to have any more children, and it was the children that took up all our time before. Are you saying you want to have another one cause you're bored? Is that what you're trying to tell me?"

"No, that's not what I'm trying to say," Selina shook her head. "I'm saying we need a hobby. Or friends to do stuff with. Or _something_ so that we can talk about more than just Christine and my father. Does that make sense?"

"I never realized it until you mentioned it just now," Elijah sighed. "But it really does."

"So…what can we do?" Selina asked. "What is there for two people who haven't really had time to do much in their lives but have kids to do?"

"Oh, there's so much!" Elijah told her. "Finding a way to occupy our time that doesn't involve our parents or our children shouldn't be hard. What do you say we start taking long vacations? You know I've got houses all over the world. We could go stay somewhere where it's warm in the winter and cool in the summer. And it would give us a change of scenery. Would you like that?"

Selina thought a moment. "You know," she nodded at last. "I really think I might. And how about, just so we get used to this new plan of ours, we start slow? We could pick a place and maybe go for a weekend to start out with before we start going for whole summers or winters or whatever."

"All right," Elijah nodded. "But you remember the big rule of traveling to my other houses, don't you?"

"Yes," Selina sighed. "Don't start fights with the cooks no matter how much I want to experiment in the kitchen on my own. You pay them well and they're happy to be where they are. I don't know why we need to go over this; I haven't had a problem like that in a long time!"

"I know you haven't and I'm proud of you for that, but it never hurts to make sure about these things," Elijah told her. "Which house would you like to visit first?"

"I don't know," Selina shrugged. "You know more about what your houses are like than I do. The only ones I truly remember anything about are the ones that I got from your brother Alexander after he left me because I spent the most time in those."

"Well, why don't we start there, then?" Elijah asked. "If those are the places you're most comfortable?"

"Okay," Selina nodded. "If you're happy with that, why not? But it's been awhile since I've visited. I hope they remember me."

"Of course they will," Elijah smiled, took her in his arms, and gave her a big kiss. "You're pretty hard to forget. And I mean that in a good way, of course."

"I know," Selina nodded. "I wouldn't believe you'd mean it in a bad way." She then grabbed his hand and led him up to the attic where she pulled out a photo album of very old pictures. "If you want to see the houses, here are the best photos of them that I have," she said. Since it had been just after she'd turned into a vampire that she and Elijah's brother Alexander had married, the pictures were black and white and just really old-looking. But the houses, both very austere and Gothic-looking, were very clear.

"They both look the same, don't you think?" Elijah asked as he looked at a photo of Selina and Alexander standing in front of one just after their wedding. "Alexander never did have much imagination, did he?"

"Well, he definitely wasn't as exciting as you, at least not at that point," Selina said. "But then again, I wasn't the best wife either. My early vampire years weren't my best days."

"But you got through them, didn't you?" Elijah told her. "And when you and Alexander saw each other again, you got on well enough."

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "I remember when we were getting reacquainted after the shock had worn off about seeing each other again, and it was when I was still married to Klaus and so Alexander and I made plans to go out to a friendly dinner, but Klaus got jealous, so he sent Adrian, who was still a little kid at the time, to come with us and spy for him. Needless to say, Adrian was a terrible partner in crime, and the evening was something else."

"We did the best we could with Adrian though," Elijah told her. "And he came out remarkably well, thanks to our efforts."

"Yeah, he did," Selina nodded. Then she took one of the pictures of the houses in and showed it to Elijah. "Let's stay at this one," she said. "It's got a really good view of the sunrise in the morning and it's very close to a beach, plus it has a big backyard."

"All right," Elijah said. "That sounds good. You make the plans and I'll tell the people who need to be told that we're going to be gone this weekend."

"Good," Selina replied. "Let's go!"

* * *

Although they'd vowed not to say anything about their family plans to Selina, Matthew went ahead and told his brother with Christine's blessing.

"My goodness, another child," Andrew said. "Do you really think you're ready? You haven't dealt with a child from the start in a long time."

"Yes, I know, but…I know what my mistakes were last time and I don't intend on making them again," Matthew told him. "I'm actually going to be around for this child and no wars or anything else will stand in my way."

"I knew this was coming," Amelia said. "But don't you use it as an excuse to forget about Selina."

"I would never forget about her," Matthew said. "But she's a grown woman with a husband and _several_ children. I don't see why you and she carry around this idea that if I have my own life, everything will be ruined. She needs to learn how to go forward without me."

"Oh, she knows how to do that," Amelia spat, her eyes narrowed. "She only did it her whole life."

"Well, there you go then," Matthew replied simply. "It shouldn't be such a difficult transition for her then. I can't wait to see what she's like when she acts like a grown woman."

Amelia heard this and sniffed disdainfully before stalking off and disappearing into the wall. Andrew stayed behind and said to his brother, "I'm very happy for you. I just wish I was alive so I would be better able to interact with the child."

"Thank you," Matthew told him. "They'll know about you. That's for sure."

Andrew gave his brother another smile and then went after Amelia.

"Why are you so upset about my brother wanting to have a child with his new wife?" He asked her.

"I don't see why you're _not_!" Amelia said. "I went to all this work to give Matthew a child and he's hardly paid her any attention at all, and now he wants to just go have another one with someone else!"

"I have to be honest," Andrew told her. "I've heard about his and Selina's interactions and though they love each other, there's not a real connection between them, is there? They're trying and trying to make one, but it's not sticking. I think they're past the time when they can just start over."

"So what am I supposed to do with my daughter?" Amelia asked. "Just doom her to be without a father because your brother made a choice that stopped him from being in her life?"

"No," Andrew said firmly. "I know we're ghosts and it might not mean much, but…we can do what we planned to do before I died. We can get married. I was much more of a father figure to Selina than Matthew ever was, if you think about it, so our marrying could do Selina more good than anything you and Matthew do for her."

Amelia eyed him skeptically. "What good does two ghosts getting married do?" She asked. "It's not like we can tell people or anything like that."

"Who says?" Andrew asked. "I think we should do it."

"We're ghosts," Amelia sighed. "And I think you're being ridiculous. If we were alive, I wouldn't hesitate to agree to your plan, but now…now I need more convincing."

"And I'll be more than happy to give it to you," Andrew told her, taking her in his arms again. "You know that."

* * *

"I can't believe you two conned me into coming with you," Damon huffed as he trailed behind his mother and Lucy while they made their way to Astrid's office to talk to her about Edele. "I don't belong in a place like this!"

"Why not?" Lucy asked. "Don't tell me you're scared."

"Of course I'm not scared," Damon replied. "Why would I be scared of a bunch of women?" It was then that the two women in the world that he _did_ have reason to be scared of put their hands on their hips and glared at him.

"And what is that supposed to mean, young man?" Charlotte asked him. "I know I made an effort when you were a child to be the supportive parent while your father ruled over all of us with an iron fist, but don't you think I'll tolerate any sort of impudence from you."

"Exactly," Lucy leaned forward and whispered in his ear. "Remember, I know where you sleep."

With a nervous gulp, Damon nodded. "Yes, ma'ams," he said, and let them continue to lead him to Astrid's office. He wondered how Astrid would react to having a ghost in her office, but to his surprise, she took it well. All she seemed to really care about was the information they had about Edele.

"So she came through a portal at Selina's father's house," Astrid wrote it down on a piece of paper before looking up at Charlotte again. "And is that where you haunt too? Portals like that happen more often at places that are already haunted."

"Well, it's not my full-time haunting place," Charlotte told her. "But my friend Amelia haunts there, as does the man who would be her fiancé if she'd just admit it."

"And has Edele come back to the house since she first showed up?" Astrid asked. "This woman was very dangerous when she was alive and now that she's dead, she'll be even worse. There are plenty of people she'd like to harm, one of whom is pregnant and going to give birth in a few months, and we need to know where the ghost is so we can corral her and Mary's baby won't come to any harm."

"No, she hasn't come back to Matthew's house that I know of," Charlotte replied. "But I suppose I could ask Amelia to be sure. Although since she has no real connection to the place and it was just where she came in, I don't know why she would come back."

"Yes," Astrid nodded. "I thought that would be the case too. Thank you so much for your help. And let us know if she appears anymore, or you sense her again, would you? It's very important."

"All right," Charlotte nodded. "I will, I promise."

"Me too," Lucy said. "I'll make sure you know right away."

"Thank you," Astrid replied, plopping into her chair, sighing, and pushing her hair out of her eyes. "That's a really big help."


	15. Playing A New Game

"Well, that was a long trip," Selina said as she dropped the suitcases on the floor of the entryway of Alexander's house and then looked around at the grand entryway which had a staircase up to the second floor beside the door. "I just want to rest up and then we can go out and party on the beach tonight. There are always some yummy tourists around every year."

"'Yummy tourists'?" Elijah repeated. "Selina, remember the rule about not eating people? I told you you're not allowed to do that."

"Why not?" Selina asked. "I'm on vacation. And why does that rule still apply? It's not like we have any more kids that we need to set good examples for." She kissed him. "Come on and give yourself a bit of a break. Let yourself have fun. Please? Or at least let me if you're not going to."

Elijah sighed. "I wouldn't be able to stop you from feeding on people, am I?"

"Nope, not anymore," Selina grinned. "But I'll be careful. I promise."

"Oh, all right," Elijah sighed. "Go out and have fun, but don't kill anyone, and don't bring anyone home to snack on for later."

"I won't do either of those things," Selina promised him. She went and laid down for a bit, and then, skipping down the stairs and looking very refreshed in a t-shirt and jean shorts, said to Elijah, "I'm going outside now. Are you sure you don't wanna come?" She tapped the book he held. "You could still read your book in the sunshine, you know."

"Thank you, but no," Elijah said. "If I know you're out frolicking and murdering people and I see it, I just might have to stop you, and you know that wouldn't be fun for either of us."

"All right, but you have to come out with me on the beach sometime," Selina said and kissed him. "I think a little time in the surf would do you some good. I even bought a new bathing suit for this trip and everything."

"All right," Elijah said, holding on to her and whispering in her ear. "We'll go out tonight after the moon comes up. Would you like that?"

"Yes," Selina whispered back. "And it's not a full moon tonight, but it's awfully close."

"How close?" Elijah asked, his laid back manner suddenly becoming worried. "I'm not going to transform here, am I?"

"I don't think so," Selina said. "You should be just fine." She then left Elijah to his books and then ran out to the beach, returning a couple hours later looking surprisingly neat and tidy, the only hint of her hunting that was visible being a bit of blood on the side of her mouth.

"Look at you," Elijah said as he put his book down and approached her, running his hands over her body. "You're much neater than I expected."

"You were thinking that I'd just rip people to pieces and come home spattered in blood head to foot, weren't you?" Selina asked.

"Yes," Elijah admitted. "I did."

"Well, I _have_ developed much less messy ways to hunt in public without being discovered," Selina pointed out. "How do you think I survived all those years after you sent me home from Paris without being caught?"

"Point taken," Elijah said. "Did you…did you eat well?"

"I did," Selina nodded. "Plus, I found this stand on the beach that makes really good pina coladas and everyone seems to play beach ball games before sundown. It's a good time."

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself," Elijah smiled. "Maybe I'll come with you tomorrow."

"Oh, I hope you do," Selina nodded and gave him a kiss as he took her over to the chair where he'd been reading and pulled her onto his lap while she kicked off her blue and white flip-flops. "I bet you'd really like it."

* * *

Just as Selina and Elijah headed off on their vacation, Christine and Matthew also decided to have one last trip before she (hopefully) would be pregnant.

"Just to warn you," Matthew told her as they rode their horses up a trail. "When you get pregnant, I might get clingy. In fact, I probably will. Cause that's how I was when Amelia got pregnant. That's how every man in my time was when his wife was expecting. So if there's something you feel you can do, but I won't let you because I'm worried, that's why. All you have to do is assure me that everything will be okay and that's that."

"Good to know," Christine smiled. "But…I might let you spoil me a bit. I've been pretty independent all my life cause of Mom's drinking and stuff, so the thought of being taken care of and not having to do a damn thing…that's very appealing to me."

"I'm glad to hear that," Matthew told her. "But you just let me know if I'm doing too much."

"Oh, I will," Christine assured him. "Don't worry."

After they got back from their ride, Christine picked up her phone and found that she'd missed a call.

"Who is it?" Matthew asked. "One of your friends?"

"Yeah," Christine nodded. "Eva. The little blonde I spent most of the time talking to at the party who insisted I wear her tiara?"

"Oh, yes," Matthew smiled. "I remember her. She was nice."

Christine took her phone, sat down on the sofa, and called Eva back. "Hi!" She greeted when Eva answered. "Sorry we haven't talked for so long."

"That's okay," Eva assured her. "You were busy with being married. I get it."

"Well, I still feel bad for neglecting you," Christine told her. "What's going on in your life?"

"Nothing much," Eva shrugged. "Sean's still bitter as ever about his cousin Kai, and with his aunt Edele's ghost out flying around, he offered to help Astrid and the Council catch her. And his sister Mary had her baby which was a boy that they named after him, so that cheered him up a bit."

"How nice!" Christine said. "I might have to talk to Mary some time. Matthew and I are trying for a baby too."

"But wasn't he a made vampire?" Eva asked. "How in the world are you going to have kids?"

"Sperm bank," Christine said simply. "I've already had one appointment, and I'm waiting to schedule a few others, depending on what happens."

"Well, I hope you get what you want," Eva told her. "I think you'd make a great mom."

"I think so too, despite the maternal example I had," Christine replied. "Mom did try her best, I suppose, so I can't fault her too much."

"We should go out for lunch tomorrow," Eva suggested. "Do you want to?"

"Sure," Christine nodded. "But it has to be us only. No guys."

"Sounds perfectly fine with me," Eva told her. "I can't wait."

The call ended and Matthew said, "It's so good that you're taking time to be with your friends. And I'll have a way to entertain myself because one of the hunting group suggested we hold a poker game tomorrow."

"But you don't know much about poker," Christine told him. "I thought you said you didn't gamble."

"Well, my father always told me that I shouldn't cause I had to be responsible with the family money and hold on to what was left before Andrew gambled away everything we had, but now I suppose a game every now and then wouldn't hurt," Matthew told her.

"Maybe you can ask Andrew to help you with strategy if he's as skilled of a card shark as you say," Christine suggested.

"Yeah, you know," Matthew nodded. "Maybe I'll do that. I'll go tomorrow."

* * *

When Matthew went looking for his brother the next day, however, Andrew was nowhere to be seen. He hadn't noticed that cause Andrew usually tried to keep quiet anyway, but when he reached his and Amelia's bedroom, he found a note on the mirror from Amelia, who just knew he'd look for them at some point.

 _Gone to see Jake,_ it read. _I need his advice. I'm taking Andrew with me cause what I need to talk to him about applies to Andrew too. We'll be back soon._

After reading the note, Matthew left the room and got on Christine's computer to see if the internet could tell him anything about poker hands and what he would need to do to be better at the game than anyone else. If his brother couldn't help him, surely that was the next best thing.

* * *

"What are we doing?" Andrew asked as Amelia and he arrived at a house he'd never been to before. "Where are we?"

"This is my brother Jake's house," Amelia explained. "Remember him? It's okay if you don't. We were just kids when he was killed. He reads. He knows lots of stuff. Mostly about werewolves, but he got brought back from the dead, so I'm sure he could help us do the same." To get her brother's attention, she rang his doorbell over and over and over until he finally came running. When he saw her, the color left his face.

"Rosie?" He got out, calling Amelia by his childhood nickname for her as she and Andrew got inside. "What are you doing here? I thought you were dead."

"I am. You were brought back from the dead," Amelia told him. "Tell me how you did it. That's what Andrew and I want too."

"Andrew Warren?" Jake said with a smile. "You're still interested in my sister? How nice!"

"It is," Andrew nodded. "Please do what she says. I'm intrigued to know how you came back from the dead myself."

"After all these years, I'm still not quite sure," Jake Warren said as he sat down at a table covered with large, dusty books. "I mean, I suppose I know the basic idea. I was brought back by a magic spell because some witch or other needed me for something."

"So all we have to do is find a witch to bring us back with magic?" Amelia asked. "That sounds simple enough."

"Not as much as you might think," Jake said. "The magical laws apparently forbid using magic to bring back the dead unless there's a really good reason, so just finding any warlock or witch off the street and asking them to bring you back won't get you what you want."

"Damn," Amelia swore. "And there's no other way to come back, is there? So we're just stuck like this?"

"Well, I wouldn't give up hope so quickly," Jake told her, pushing his sandy blond hair out of his eyes. "Just because it's against the law doesn't mean there won't be people out there who are willing to break the rules to get a thrill. There's always a chance some ignorant kids could bring you back to life."

"That's ridiculous!" Amelia told him. "That happens in the movies, not real life!"

"Very true," Jake agreed. "But if you want to come back, that's one of the only chances you have to do so. Are you sure you want to give up on it so quickly?"

"No," Amelia asked as she held Andrew's hand. "No, I don't. And lucky for us, there are a lot of thrill-seeking kids in the world. We just have to wait for the right time. But that's gonna take forever!"

"But the good thing is that we've got that," Andrew replied. Then he looked at Jake. "Thanks for your help," he told him.

"You're welcome," Jake replied. "And you two don't be strangers now. It's a bit lonely here. I wouldn't mind a ghost or two."

"We'll keep that in mind," Andrew promised. They then went home and he found Alice teaching Matthew poker with an hour left until his friends showed up and asked if he could sit in a game.

"You still play?" Alice asked in surprise. "Even after what happened to you?"

"Of course," Andrew nodded. "It would take more than being shot in the head to stop me from liking this game."

Then, to their surprise, Amelia asked, "Can I play too?"

"Sure," Andrew got out. "That would be nice. Have a seat and we'll show you."

"All right, thank you," Amelia replied. "And don't worry. I'm a fast learner. Let's deal and get this game started."

"Yes, ma'am," Andrew told her, shuffling the deck and then handing out the cards and wondering just what sort of player Amelia would be.


	16. Picking Up The Pace

"It's coming," Elijah said as he looked out the window at the darkening sky. "The full moon is coming."

"Are you still nervous?" Selina asked. "We've done this same pattern every full moon for years. What is there to be afraid of?"

"I'm not afraid!" Elijah told her. "I was just making an observation." He sighed and sat down on his and Selina's bed. "I'm glad this is happening here at home rather than while we were on vacation. That would have been difficult to explain if I'd killed a bunch of people in one spot."

"Why is it so hard for you to get truly comfortable with the werewolf stuff?" Selina asked, sitting next to him and putting her arms around him. "Is it because of the werewolves that killed your brother?"

"That," Elijah nodded. "And unlike you, I didn't choose this. It just happened to me against my will. Sure, having you to help makes the experience tolerable, but…I can't bring myself to enjoy it."

"But you want to?" Selina asked. "If you wanted to, I'm sure we can find a way."

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "Yes, I want to. It would make things so much easier since this is something I have to endure every month anyway, so why hate it when I don't have to?" He paused. "Are you going to suggest that I talk to people at Enid's? Because honestly, I don't think that will help. It's not my kind of place."

"Oh, I know," Selina nodded. "Which is why that isn't what I was gonna suggest. Your brother Kol's got a pretty dark family. Maybe they can help you out. We don't associate with them very much, and I think we should."

"I'm really not sure about that," Elijah hesitated. "I'm worried that they might-"

"Oh, come on!" Selina interrupted and shook her head. "Do you want to get used to this or not? Getting close with Kol's family might be the only way to do it."

"I'm sure there are other ways," Elijah replied stiffly. "But I suppose that if that's what you want to do, I guess it wouldn't hurt. Not all of them are as wild and unpredictable as my brother. Maybe we'll meet someone who's sane."

"That's the spirit!" Selina smiled. "When should I ask them out to dinner? Would Saturday be all right?"

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "We might as well get this over with as soon as possible."

"It'll be fun, you'll see," Selina tried to tell him as she called Amy to ask for Kol and Margot's numbers. "And even if it isn't, you'll still get to drink." She made the call and then she and Elijah headed outside to run around under the full moon.

* * *

"So, the man we're eating with…he's your brother?" Declan asked Kol as they sat at a table in a restaurant with Margot and Regina waiting for Selina and Elijah to arrive. "I'm sorry if you've told me before and I don't remember. We see them so little."

"Yes, he's my brother," Kol sighed. "One of the more straitlaced ones. I don't know how he got his wife's loyalty. It just makes no sense to me."

"Why not?" Regina asked.

"Well, at one point a long time ago, she used to be a very prolific murderer, that's why," Kol replied. "They called her Lonely Heart. Then for some reason, she threw all her hunting skill away to make a home with my brother and have a whole mess of children." He clicked his tongue and shook his head. "Such a waste."

Selina and Elijah arrived a few minutes later. Due to her friendship with Amy, Selina knew Margot reasonably well, although she wasn't as close with her as she was with her sister. Margot then made introductions around the table and when they were all introduced, Kol said to Elijah, "All right, brother. Tell me why you brought us here. It's not some attempt to get me to reform, is it? You've tried so many times over the years and it's never worked."

Elijah froze as he looked at his brother. He knew what he had to say, but getting himself to say it was the hard part. "Selina," he said at last. "Would you tell everyone why we're here?"

"I think you should," Selina encouraged him. "Come on, you can do it."

Finally, Elijah cleared his throat, took a deep breath, and, after stealing Kol's wine glass and taking a big swig, said, "some time ago, I was kidnapped by Niklaus' biological father and turned into a werewolf myself. Ever since then, I've really struggled to accept that part of myself, and Selina and I thought that since you all are more comfortable with the darker side, you could help me with it."

"Are you sure what you're asking?" Kol wanted to know. "Because if you are, I really _will_ help you."

"Or maybe Declan should," Margot said. "Not that Elijah wouldn't appreciate your help, Kol, but for someone who's just _starting_ to reach out to the dark side, you might be a bit much."

"Would _you_ help me?" Elijah asked Declan. "Please? But at a later time when we're not with so many people."

"Now I'm intrigued," Kol smiled. "Elijah, what's the big secret?"

"Of course," Declan nodded as he and Elijah both ignored Kol. "Just let me know when you want to meet and then we can talk in private."

They then ordered dinner and had light conversation until they parted ways with Elijah having Declan's number in hand for when he finally decided to call him.

* * *

When Elijah arrived at Declan and Regina's for his and Declan's first talk, the first thing Declan did was hand him a bottle of beer. "You might want to have some of that before we go hunting," he said. "If it's not really your thing, that might help."

"Actually, it's not hunting that's the problem," Elijah confessed as he twisted the bottle open and took a drink. "If it was, I would have been able to talk about it in front of the others. But really, it's something else. Something much more delicate."

"Oh, yes?" Declan asked. "Well, what is it? I hope you can tell me, otherwise I won't be able to help you."

Elijah sighed and took a seat. "Selina's and my last child has married and left home," he said. "Selina and I have devoted so much of our lives to our children that now that we no longer have any, we've got no idea what to do with ourselves. It's like the passion we had has disappeared. Have you and Regina had that problem?"

"No," Declan shook his head. "I can't say we have. We only had one child, Victoria, and the rest of our relationship has very much been about the two of us."

"And how do you keep each other interested?" Elijah wanted to know. "How do you keep the passion up? Selina has decided to go back to her dark ways a bit, but I can't do that."

"How does Selina feel about pain?" Declan asked. "Would she get angry if you, say, bit her as a form of sex play?"

"No!" Elijah shook his head. "She actually insists I do it frequently, but the only time I do is on nights where there's a full moon and I've transformed, so I'm already riled up anyway."

"Well, this should be easy to fix then," Declan told him. "Regina and I do things like that all the time. Restraining, hitting, biting, whipping, we've pretty much done it all and if Selina's open to that, I think you should try it too. It could be good for you."

"I don't know," Elijah shook his head. "I don't know if I can do it."

"You don't have to try and be an expert immediately," Declan assured him. "Start where you're comfortable: bite each other, and then once you've been doing that for a little bit, add something else until you've got a bit of a program built up. But don't tell Selina what you're doing beforehand. The element of surprise is what makes it exciting."

"All right," Elijah nodded. "Thank you. We'll see how well it goes."

"Good," Declan nodded. "And let me know how it goes so I can adjust your teaching accordingly. I don't need details of course, but I'd like to know what works and what doesn't."

"All right," Elijah told him. "I'll let you know what happened. I promise."

* * *

As Elijah brushed his teeth and Selina got into bed, she asked, "Can I turn the light off? I'm a bit sleepy. I figure I might as well try and fall asleep now."

"Oh, no," Elijah said. "Can't you wait just a moment? I have something in mind that could wake you up."

"Really?" Selina asked. "What is it? Oh, and did you and Declan have a good talk when you went to see him today?"

"Yes, we did," Elijah nodded, a smile curving his lips. "He told me some things that will be very helpful."

"Good," Selina smiled. "Wonderful. That's just what I was hoping for when I asked them to come to dinner with us.'

Elijah then got in bed beside her and pulled her to himself, slowly kissing her neck as his hand went under her camisole and stroked her stomach.

"That tickles," Selina smiled. "And I like it,"

"Good," Elijah told her. "I think you'll like what I'm about to do also."

"Really?" Selina asked. "And what's that?"

Elijah bit her then, almost stopping when she let out a cry in response to ask her if she was all right, but then told himself to press on. Her cries soon became giggles and then when he pulled away and licked her blood off his lips, she said, "Well, that was a surprise from you. It's not even a full moon night!"

"I thought I might do something a little unexpected," Elijah told her. "Just to shake things up a little. Were you surprised?"

"Yes," Selina nodded.

"Did you like it?" He asked.

"Oh, god, yes!" Selina replied. She grabbed him then and gave him a bite too, then he turned off the light and helped her wiggle out of her panties after he pulled the sheet over them and deftly slipped inside her. They went on like this for some time, and for the first time in a while, they both were completely exhausted and slept through the night, and then the next morning, Elijah called Declan to tell him what he'd done.

* * *

"You really think that what your brother told us will be much help?" Andrew asked Amelia. "He said we either have to find a witch to help us, or just wait around and hope some miscreant children will bring us back to life. Now, normally I don't think of myself as a pessimist, but how can we find a witch? And what are the odds that children looking for a thrill will just stumble onto our graves and say, "I know, let's call up those two'!"

"We'll find a witch and ask," Amelia said simply. "I'm sure there's one around here."

"So you suggest we just walk around and hope to find a witch?" Andrew asked. "Oh, yes, that is a very promising plan!"

"Well, I don't see you thinking of anything that would help!" Amelia told him. "Don't mock my plans unless you come up with something better. Why are you so touchy all of a sudden?"

"Cause I don't like the prospect of being alive again dangled in my face only to find out that there's really no chance at all," Andrew told her. "And can you blame me? When I died, I was full of so much regret for everything that I could have accomplished, but wasn't able to. Now, here I am, you and I are on reasonably good terms, and if we got this second chance at life, we could do everything that we were supposed to do! Doesn't that excite you at all?"

"Of course it does!" Amelia cried. "Why do you think I want to find a witch so bad? But I don't know where to start. That's the big problem. Do you think my daughter would know?"

"Could be," Andrew nodded. "Why don't I go and ask her?"

* * *

"Do you know any witches?" Andrew asked Selina. "And it's very important to tell me if you do."

"Sure I know some witches," Selina nodded. "I know quite a few as a matter of fact. Why?"

"Because your mother and I went to see your uncle Jake and we got to talking about how he was brought to life, and he said it was because of a witch. And that in order for us to come back ourselves, we need to know a witch, or wait around for someone to call us up accidentally. Do you think someone would be willing to take our case?"

"I don't know," Selina shrugged. "Maybe. But you'd have to have a really good reason to be brought back. What reason would you give?"

"Well, I was shot dead before your mother and I were able to marry," Andrew pointed out. "Would that be considered a good enough reason?"

"I don't know," Selina admitted. "I'd have to ask."

* * *

And she did a short time later, when she and Astrid met each other for lunch at Astrid's house. "I have to ask you something important," she said. "Given what's been going on with that ghost that the Council is having trouble with, this might seem like a trivial thing, but I'm going to ask anyway: how easy is it for a ghost to get their life back?"

"Do you know of a ghost who needs their life back?" Astrid asked.

"Yes, I do," Selina nodded. "A couple, actually. My mom and my uncle were in love with each other their whole lives but weren't able to be together because my grandparents were complete snobs. Then when my grandparents were dead, Mom and Uncle Andrew were briefly happy. They even got engaged. But before they could get married, Uncle Andrew got shot dead, and Mama was miserable for the rest of her life. Is that strong enough grounds for a second chance?" She asked hopefully.

"It could be,"Astrid replied. "But I'll have to ask Clarence. He knows more about the rules for that then I do. I'll ask him and let you know what I find out."

"All right, thank you," Selina nodded. "I'll let Mama and Uncle Andrew know. I'm sure they'll be pleased.

"Good," Astrid told her with a smile and then got up to grab the phone. "I know we decided on pizza, so what do you want on it?"


	17. Love Three Ways

"So you tried the biting with Selina?" Declan asked Elijah. "How did it go?"

"Very well, actually," Elijah replied. "Not that I was afraid that it would be a problem, cause like I told you, she's wanted me to bite her forever. I'm not so sure about the other stuff, though. Like the tying up and all that."

"Why not?" Declan asked. "The restraints aren't much different than the biting."

"Well, part of her early vampire experience was that the man who turned her would tie her up and starve her, and then set her on poor innocents that he brought home with the goal in mind that she would kill them," Elijah explained. "If I tried to do that, it might bring up unpleasant flashbacks for her and I don't want her to get upset or have some sort of relapse into dark behavior because she remembers all these horrible things."

"That is a bit of a drawback," Declan conceded. "But she trusts you, doesn't she? Maybe if you spoke to her about it beforehand, it wouldn't upset her. That's the most important thing about all this: talking to your partner and making sure you're both on the same page so it's actually an enjoyable experience for everyone."

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "I suppose if I talk to her, it'll be all right."

"Well good luck," Declan told him. "And as usual, whenever you try something new, let me know how it went so we can make any adjustments that need to be made.

"All right," Elijah nodded. "And thank you for your help with all this."

"You're welcome," Declan nodded. "Thank you for trusting me with what some would think was a very delicate subject."

"I would be one of those 'some' normally, but now I really need the advice, you know?" Elijah told him. "You spend so many years occupying your time one way and then that way stops so you have no idea what else to do with yourself…it's hard to try and figure out how to occupy your time again, you know?"

"Yes, I do, in a way," Declan replied. He then said, "Oh, I have to get you some tools. I assume you don't have any."

"No, I don't," Elijah shook his head."

So Declan gave him a paddle, a whip, and a pair of handcuffs. "There. That should be enough to get you started," he said. "Now go forth and show your wife what you learned."

"All right," Elijah told him. "I will."

* * *

But Elijah ended up having another idea that would help even more than just talking to Selina about his and Declan's plan to spice up his and Selina's sex life: buying a pair of black leather pants. "I need you to come to the store with me," he told Selina after he'd arrived home and stashed all the tools away where Selina wouldn't see them. "I have an article of clothing I need to buy and I'd like your opinion on it."

"Yeah?" Selina grinned. "What sort of clothing? Do tell!"

Elijah couldn't say it and he kept getting redder and redder in the face. "You'll see when we get to the mall," he said.

But even when they reached the store, he wouldn't tell her. He sat her down by a dressing room, instructed her to close her eyes, and when she had, he grabbed a few sizes of leather pants before heading into the dressing room. He put the first pair on. It was snug, but he managed to get them zipped. He exited the dressing room without a shirt and was greeted by the whistles of other women who were watching him. "You can open your eyes now," Elijah told Selina and moved her hands off her face.

She stared up at him, her jaw dropping. "Oh, fuck," She whispered, then stood up, pushed him against the wall, and kissed him deeply while rubbing up against him and whispering in his ear. "You wear these and I'll let you do whatever you want."

"Oh, _really?"_ Elijah asked in surprise. "Whatever I want? Even tying you up and, you know…giving you a spank with a paddle? Or whipping you?"

"Why not?" Selina asked. "I don't know why you're into the kinky stuff all of a sudden, but I'm more than willing to go for it if I'm warned ahead of time. _And_ if you'll be wearing leather pants and no shirt while you do it."

"I will," Elijah promised her. "Don't worry." He looked over his shoulder then. "Do these look too snug to you? Should I go a size up?"

"If you're not uncomfortable, I think those look fine," Selina said as she gazed at his backside and reached behind him to give it a squeeze. "And let's get you some leather shorts too."

"Oh, all right," Elijah told her with a wink and an indulgent smile and then went to change his clothes so they could get the shorts, check out, and go home.

* * *

When they got home and hid themselves away in the bedroom, Selina stripped down to her underwear and waited on the bed with her eyes closed until Elijah emerged, wearing nothing but the leather pants, his hair ruffled and holding the cuffs in one hand and a whip in the other.

"Are you ready to do this?" He asked.

"Sure," Selina nodded, her breathing picking up as she removed her bra and tossed it on the floor. "Are you?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Elijah nodded. He then cuffed her and laid her face down on the mattress, shutting his eyes as he brought the whip down and heard her cry out.

"Oh, my god!" He cried after. "Are you okay? I didn't mean to hurt you!"

"I'm not hurt," Selina said, her voice muffled. "At least not really. Why are you stopping now?"

"You want me to keep going?" Elijah asked in amazement.

"Yeah, I trust you," Selina replied. "Now get a move on!"

He brought the whip down a few more times and when he finally put it down after that, it was more due to his own nerves than anything she did. He uncuffed her and took her in his arms as she enthusiastically kissed his face.

"That was…wow," she got out. "I don't think I've ever experienced anything like that!" Then she saw the pained look in his eyes and kissed him gently. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "I just…I know I'm terrible at this, but I hate to think that I'm hurting you."

"It's cause I'm being too damn nice, isn't it?" She then dressed quickly, zipped outside, dragged some poor soul into their bedroom and drained him right in front of Elijah's eyes. "What do you say we leave him outside so everyone can see what I did?" She asked, smiling as blood covered her mouth.

"No," Elijah shook his head, his lips thin. "No." He grabbed her and whipped her again, this time with more feeling. "That was a very bad thing for you to do!" He scolded her and slapped her across the face, getting an odd sense of satisfaction from it this time, about as much as she did. In fact, she looked plain gleeful. He whipped her a few more times, and then they stripped off what little they worse and made love on the bed until Selina fell asleep, and Elijah dressed and went to bury the poor man she'd killed.

* * *

When Astrid finally had some free time, she called Selina and then the two of them headed back to the Council building and right into the offices of one of the most loved or reviled people who worked there. His name was Clarence and he was responsible for everything that had to with love, including setting up the love lives of witches, warlocks and, as recent times had shown, other supernatural beings as well.

When they arrived at his office, he wasn't there, so they just sat and waited. A few minutes later, he came through the door, cutting a very impressive figure that was very hard to miss. He was a large black man with a shaved head who always wore black pants with a pink stripe down the side and a sparkly pink tuxedo jacket. "Hello, ladies," he said brightly as he sat down at his desk. "What brings you to the land of love today?"

"We want to know if death separating two people who were in love with each other when they were alive is grounds for them to come back to live and live out the relationship they were supposed to have," Selina said. "Please tell me that's allowed."

"You're asking about your mother and your uncle, aren't you?" Clarence asked knowingly.

"Damn," Selina replied, looking at Astrid. "Does he know _everything_?"

"When it comes to love, I know all," Clarence nodded solemnly.

"So what _about_ them then?" Selina asked. "Can you do anything to bring them back to life and give them a second chance, or are they just…doomed?"

"Well, I have good news and I have bad news," Clarence told her. "Which would you like to hear first?"

"The bad news," Selina replied. "Let's just get it out of the way."

"The bad news is that I can't personally do anything," Clarence told her. "The path of their lives has been set and it would be wrong to interfere."

"Oh," Selina sighed and started to get up. "Well, thanks anyway for being honest."

"Don't you want to hear the good news?" Clarence asked her. "Sit yourself back down and let me finish."

"What more can there be left to say?" Selina asked.

"The reason why I can't interfere to bring your mother and your uncle back to life, is because they already will be without my help," he told her. "It'll take time, but it'll happen."

"It will?" Selina cried. "Well, I'm sure my uncle will be glad to hear that."

"Are you sure you wanna tell them?" Clarence asked. "Wouldn't it be better to have it be a surprise?"

"Oh, I'm sure it will be, whether I tell them ahead of time or not," Selina replied. "Thank you for the information."

"You're welcome," Clarence smiled as Selina and Astrid got up and headed to the door of his office. "I'm always glad to help."

* * *

"So, how did the meeting with the witch go?" Andrew asked Selina eagerly when she returned.

"Yeah," Amelia said. "Will they help us or not?"

"Well, the guy we talked to said he wasn't allowed," Selina replied.

Andrew let out a long, heavy sigh then and Amelia took his hand. "At least we tried," she said.

"Let me finish," Selina told them, making Andrew perk up again. "The reason why he couldn't just bring you back to life is because it's gonna happen of its own accord. He says it's going to take some time to happen, but you'll get your second chance. That's good news, right?"

"Oh, yes," Andrew nodded as Amelia kissed him. "Even though there's going to be a wait, that's still very wonderful news."

* * *

After Christine came back from another round of insemination, she sat down and said to Matthew, who'd driven her, "Do you think I should tell my mother about the baby?"

"Well, I don't know," Matthew replied. "You didn't tell her about the wedding or the reception party, and she didn't show up at your graduation, so I don't see how suddenly finding out she's a grandmother is going to make her want to suddenly change how things are right now and be a big part of your life, but it's really more your choice than mine."

"Yes, you're right," Christine nodded. "And even if I don't tell my mom, it's not like the baby will be lacking family who love them, right?"

"Exactly," Matthew nodded. "And can I make a request?"

"Sure," Christine nodded. "What is it?"

"If the baby is a girl, can her name be some tribute to my daughter?" Matthew asked. "They don't have to share a name of course, but maybe giving the child her name as a middle name will make her feel more valued, and that's what I think will help us all get along."

"Sure," Christine nodded. "Why not?" She squirmed a little. "I just wish I could know if I was pregnant right now," she said. "The waiting is making me anxious!"

But she didn't have to wait much longer. A couple of weeks later, she was feeling ill, much more ill than she'd ever felt in her entire life. Matthew took her to the doctor, and when they told him of their attempts to conceive, he did a pregnancy test, which later came back positive. As they drove home, they couldn't help smiling to themselves, Matthew in particular. He was going to be a father again. He was going to get his second chance. And this time, he would make the most of it.


	18. Daddy's Girl Learned Fast

"You mind telling me why you left school early today?" Elijah called to Selina when he got home. "It was a lonely ride in the car after work."

"I'm sorry about that," Selina called. "It's just that I have a surprise for you and I had to leave school to get it done."

"'Get it done'?" Elijah repeated. "You didn't get another tattoo, did you?" He paused and said more thoughtfully, "if you did, I hope it's in a hidden spot and I have to hunt for it. That's always fun."

Selina zipped in the living room then and sashayed up to him, doing a little dance in an open bathrobe that showed the red lace teddy she was wearing underneath. "How do you think I look as a blonde?" She asked and shook out her new short blonde hair cut. "Does it bring back any memories for you, Elijah?"

"Oh, yes," he nodded and pushed her against the wall. "The last time I saw you like this, you were _bad_."

"I was," Selina nodded. "I haven't done anything bad _yet_ , but I will so you can punish me." She bit her bottom lip and then ran her tongue over it. "Whaddaya say?"

Elijah chuckled and said, "Well, you seem real eager to get me upset. Are you sure you know what you're asking for?"

"Oh, you better believe I do," Selina nodded and then gave him a smirk. "Or can we do this without my giving you any actual incentive, thus saving an innocent human life? Your choice."

"Well, of course I would want to save the human life," Elijah replied. "And I guess that seeing you murder one person sticks in my mind enough that I don't need to see you kill any others."

"I thought you would say that," Selina said. "But just to be sure…" She opened the drawer of the dresser that had her underwear in it and moved some aside, showing Elijah that the drawer had a false bottom. And under the false bottom were a couple boxes of cigarettes. Selina took out a box, slid a cigarette out, stuck it in her mouth, and then took out a lighter that was beside the box to light the cigarette before inhaling and blowing a smoke ring. "Now there's something good I haven't tasted in a long time," she said slyly, then giggling at Elijah's look of horror.

"You told me you got rid of your cigarettes!" He cried and snatched the box away from her before giving her a slap. "You _lied_ to me!"

"Not technically," Selina replied, blood rising up in her cheek. "Have I smoked even _one_ cigarette since I told you I would stop? Now doesn't count, of course, but _have_ I?"

"No," Elijah shook his head. "But you still kept them after you told me you threw them all away. That's dishonest."

Selina scoffed and rolled her eyes before putting the cigarette out, pushing Elijah against the wall, and kissing him. "We're wasting time talking when we could be doing more enjoyable things," she said. "You _do_ know that, right?" She then rifled around in her drawer for the cuffs, which she'd taken and hid when Elijah wasn't looking.

"So you're going to try and restrain _me_ now?" Elijah asked with a smirk.

"Of course I am," Selina replied. "If you want that to be your job, don't stand around yammering about nothing for so long." She slapped them on him and said, "You know, if you don't want to see me smoking and killing, you better start being able to do this without that incentive."

"Oh, I'm really thinking about it," Elijah snapped. "Believe me."

Selina got him into bed then and undressed him, smiling as she ran her hands over his body. "You look real nice under your suit," she told him. "I like it!"

"Good," Elijah said as she nibbled on his earlobe. "I'm glad you do."

Selina giggled as he squirmed and tried to get out of the cuffs. "This is driving you _crazy,_ isn't it?" She asked as she scratched his arm with her sharp nail and watched a line of blood well up, which she licked up with her tongue. "You really wanna get out of those cuffs and come after _me_ , don't you?" She asked. "Cause that's your right as a _man_ , isn't it?" She began kissing his neck and after a little while, bit down on it. "Did that hurt?" She whispered against his ear. "Tell me it hurt."

"Yes," Elijah breathed. "Yes, it hurt. But it was good!"

Selina released him from the cuffs then and Elijah started to get up, but she pushed him back hard enough that his head knocked the headboard. "Just a minute," she hissed. "I'm not done yet." She took his hand and then kissed his fingers before gently sucking on each one in turn.

Elijah shut his eyes and moaned, wondering if he was fussing about nothing. Letting her be in control wasn't a bad thing, as long as it wasn't forever.

When she reached down and gently stroked his bulge, that's when his eyes popped open and he launched forward to grab her, throwing her underneath him as he kissed her deeply, ripped off what little she was wearing and, after urging her legs apart, pushed inside her with a thrust as she let out a cry and he nibbled on her neck, just like she'd done with him.

* * *

"You need me to be in here when you call Selina and tell her what's going on?" Christine asked Matthew.

"No," Matthew shook his head. "You can go and rest. I'll be fine."

"Really?" Christine wanted to know as she crossed her arms. "Will you _really_ call her if I leave?"

"Yes," Matthew nodded.

It was then that Christine felt a wave of nausea wash over her, so she ran to the bathroom and Matthew made the call.

"Selina, it's Daddy," he said when she answered. "I just wanted to tell you that Christine…Christine is pregnant. Please don't be mad. I'll still love you just the same."

"It's nice to know you have something to keep you busy," was Selina's reply. "Cause you wouldn't like me now."

"What do you mean I wouldn't like you now?" Matthew asked. "What have you done? Are you misbehaving?"

"Yes," Selina told him. "Yes, I am. But don't let that worry you. You have more important things to think about."

Matthew sighed. "You're an adult, so I can't tell you how to run your life or what choices to make, but do me a favor and just don't do anything that will get you killed, okay?"

Selina scoffed. "What do you think I am, an idiot? I've done this before and nothing bad happened to me."

"Good," Matthew said shortly. Then Christine came back from the bathroom and he told Selina 'Goodbye' and hung up.

"How did she take it?" Christine asked. "Is it going to create more problems?"

"Well, I don't know," Matthew replied. "She didn't get upset, not really. But I do think she's given up on me, or lost her mind or something. It's probably another desperate cry for attention. But don't worry; I won't take the bait this time."

"I didn't think you would," Christine told him and played with his hair.

Matthew took her in his arms and kissed her. "I'm happy," he said. "Are you?"

"Yes," Christine told him. "Really, I don't think I could be happier, to be totally honest." She lay down and Matthew massaged her stomach with a smile on his lips as she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

"While it's nice to know that we're going to get to be alive again soon, I would like to know _when_ ," Andrew told Amelia. They were still reeling a little from the experience of exorcising Edele, and the prospect of their resurrection was a perfect distraction.

"Why are you so nervous about this?" Amelia asked him. "You've been fretting ever since the idea was brought up."

"Well, in case you don't realize it, I have no idea how to live in this new time!" Andrew told her. "I mean, of course I'm getting ideas from that box Matthew has in his living room that talks, but still! What if I make a mistake?"

"You won't," Amelia assured him. "That's what you have me for. And I'm sure Selina will help us too. There is no need to worry." She held him close and gave him a kiss. "It's going to be all right. Okay?"

"All right," Andrew replied and hugged her back. "How are you so confident that I'll turn out all right?"

"Well, remember what Jake said about us coming to haunt him?" Amelia asked. "I was thinking of taking him up on the offer. We're not doing much here and Jake could really help me help you adjust. Don't you think?"

"Of course, since he doesn't mind," Andrew replied. They went and told Matthew, who had just turned off their bedroom light after tucking Christine into bed and was shutting the bedroom door behind him.

"You wanna go?" Matthew asked. "You don't have to; you can stay here if you want."

"That's nice, but…I think it would be better for everyone if we left," Amelia told him. "Or at least if _I_ did. Jake said he'd take us in. We're going with him because we heard from someone who can tell the future that Andrew and I will soon be brought back to life, and I think Jake can help your brother adjust to the modern world. He has more time on his hands than you do. But we'll come back now and again if you want us."

"Of course," Matthew nodded. "I hope you two enjoy your time at Jake's and that Andrew learns a thing or two."

"Oh, I don't think that will be a problem at all," Andrew smirked. "Seeing as how I know basically _nothing_ now."

"It's jarring at first," Matthew agreed. "But it'll be easy for you. You've always been more forward thinking than I've been. You'll hardly have to change at all. If I can do it, you can."

"That is a very good point," Andrew agreed. "You want us to tell Jake you said 'Hello'?"

"Yes," Matthew nodded before they disappeared. "Please do that, would you?" Then, with one last 'Goodbye,' they disappeared, and Matthew went back to the living room, turning the TV on and trying not to think too much about what trouble his daughter was getting herself into.


	19. Doing Good For The Girl

"You know, I don't think it's common for people to just invite ghosts to haunt," Amelia told her brother. "You're very brave."

"Oh, I don't think I'm being brave," Jake said. "After all, it's not like you frighten me. Now, inviting our parents to come and haunt me, _that_ would be brave."

"Were they really tough enough on you that you needed to be afraid of them?" Amelia asked. "Not to sound bitter, or anything, but it always seemed to me like they were much easier on you boys."

"I suppose they were, a bit," Jake nodded. "I don't think I could look you in the eye and say that that isn't a true statement. In fact, I don't think Father was ever harsh with me until the end. At least not that I remember."

" _I can't tell you how proud your mother and I are of you, Jake," his father said. "Getting into Ivoridge like you did, it's very impressive! Most boys who go there usually follow it up with a chance to go to West Point!"_

" _I know that," he replied. But all his life, even now, when he was only thirteen, he'd known that his heart would always be more into reading than fighting. "It surprises me how much a thought of me having a military career pleases you. I thought that part of being in this family was that we weren't allowed to fight."_

" _Well, of course not," his father replied. "But my boy, you're one of the wealthy class! You won't be out there on the field, killing people like a barbarian! Surely there's a much less violent way for you to participate. And thank you so much for being more of a reading man. It's nice to have to worry about one boy and not two."_

 _Jake sighed and pushed back his sandy blond hair. "Well, I guess we'll have to see, won't we?" He then excused himself and went to his little sister's room._

 _Amelia was much younger than he was, just three, with curly blonde hair and big blue eyes. Most boys his age, every one of them he'd ever met that had a sister the same age, stayed away from them, but there was something about Amelia that he just loved to pieces. He paused at her doorway and watched her as she played with her dolls, and then, after a minute or two, knocked on the doorframe. "Hi, Rosie," he said when she finally looked up at him. "Did you miss me?"_

 _It took a minute for Amelia to register that he was there, but when it hit her, she threw her doll down on the floor, got up, and ran for her brother, throwing her arms around him the best she could. "Jakey, where you go?" She asked._

" _I was at school," Jake explained, picking her up. "But I'm back now."_

" _Forever?" Amelia asked._

" _As far as I know," Jake told her. "What are you playing?"_

" _Nothing," Amelia shook her head. "Will you read to me?"_

" _Of course," Jake nodded. "What would you like me to read to you?" He looked around her room for books and then realized that there weren't any. He then took her hand and led her to his room where one of the slaves was making his bed._

" _Oh, I'm sorry," she said. "You want to come in? I can finish straightening up your room later."_

" _No, it's fine," Jake told her. "You can continue with your work. I just came in to grab a few books." He then looked at his sister, who was staring up in wide-eyed awe at the tall bookshelf. "Which one do you want me to read to you?" He asked._

" _All of them," she said, reaching out to touch the shelf. Jake chuckled and gave her a kiss on the cheek before grabbing a few books at random and taking her hand again to lead her out of the room and go back to hers._

" _I won't tell Mama that I'm doing this for you," he said. "I promise."_

" _Good," Amelia nodded solemnly. "Mama won't like it."_

" _Well, Mama is wrong," Jake said firmly. "I'll read to you as much as you want and what she says doesn't matter."_

" _Yes!" Amelia smiled. "Thank you."_

 _They were reading when their other brother Charlie, aged eleven, stormed into Amelia's room without knocking. "Amelia, Mama says—" he paused as he noticed what Jake and Amelia were doing. "You're not supposed to do that with her!" He crowed. "I'm telling Mama on you!"_

 _It was then that Amelia let out a growl and launched herself out of Jake's lap. She wasn't big enough or strong enough to push Charlie to the floor, but she could drop down and bite his ankle instead._

" _Oh, my goodness, ow!" He cried as he hopped around on one foot. He was about to strike his sister when Jake stopped him and they began to tussle._

 _It was them knocking over a vase that brought their parents running over to break up the fight. "Boys, stop!" Their father said, pulling them apart. "What in the world is going on here? You know you're not supposed to fight! At least not very often."_

" _Amelia bit me!" Charlie cried._

" _And you were about to kick her, so I was just trying to defend my sister!" Jake added._

" _You two go and wash up for dinner," their father told the boys. Then, he looked at his wife. "I suppose you'd like to deal with Amelia?"_

" _Yes, of course," his wife nodded. "You don't need to trouble yourself with it."_

 _Her father left then, and her mother said, "Amelia Rose, what in the world would possess you to bite your brother? You know that's not good behavior! I think you should eat alone in your room tonight and ponder about how bad it is to hurt other people in your family."_

" _But Jake and Charlie hurt each other and they get to eat downstairs," Amelia said. "Why can't I?"_

" _Cause it doesn't work that way," her mother told her firmly. "It's my job as your mother to teach you the right way for a lady to behave, and I hope it will only take one dinner in your room alone for you to realize that ladies do not hurt people, especially boys and men, no matter how badly they're provoked. Do you understand that?"_

" _No," Amelia shook her head and stomped her foot. "Mama, that's not fair!"_

" _Well, the world isn't fair," her mother snapped, giving her a hard swat on the bottom and dragging her back to her room by her hair. After ordering Amelia to stay put, her mother locked her bedroom door behind her and went down to dinner, where conversation continued as usual and no one said another word about the argument between the Lockwood children, or where in the world Amelia was, except for when the servants were told to bring a tray up to her room because she'd misbehaved._

 _Jake got a glance at the tray before it was carried up, and noticed that it didn't have much on it for his sister to eat. So he saved his dessert and brought it to her after his parents had gone to bed, sneaking into her room, and comforting his sister who hadn't eaten a thing and was sobbing on her pillow instead._

"You were always so good to me," Amelia told him. "You and Andrew both. Thank you."

"Well, I love you, Rosie," Jake told her. "And I wasn't going to stand idly by while Charlie hurt you and Mama and Daddy starved you just for sticking up for yourself. I hope Charlie was nicer to you when the two of you got older. Was he?"

"He didn't get worse," Amelia replied. "And I think that as time went by, Mama actually kept a closer eye on him for my sake, though of course she'd never tell me that to my face. I suppose it's better than nothing."

"Am I interrupting a warm sibling moment?" Andrew asked as he appeared at Amelia's shoulder. "If I am, I can come back."

"No, you don't have to go," Amelia said. "We were just talking about how good Jake was to me. Just like you."

Andrew flushed a little. "Good." He then looked at Jake. "Any particular place you want us to stay?"

"I'm not gonna tell you where to be," Jake told them. "I mean, my bedroom's taken, obviously, but you have the run of the rest of the place."

"All right," Andrew nodded. "Thank you. That's very kind."

They looked around a bit and found a nice room near Jake's and then came to see him again. "We have an ulterior motive for moving in here with you," Amelia said.

"Oh?" Jake asked. "It's not just because you love me and want my company?"

"Well, there's that," Amelia assured him. "But we heard from a very reliable source that we're gonna be brought back to life soon and Andrew isn't quite comfortable with his ability to blend into the modern era. Would you help him?"

"Sure," Jake nodded. "It could be fun."

"And how will you do that?" Andrew asked. "Are you going to give me books to read about it or something?"

"I suppose I could give you a few books if you wanted," Jake replied, a smile curving his lips. "But really, nothing is as helpful as getting practical experience. And for that, you will need to watch television. And I have some friends I could bring to help too."

"Wonderful!" Amelia cried. "That's a great idea, Jake!"

"Do we really have to bring other people in to help us?" Andrew asked. "Is it necessary?"

"Yes," Amelia replied. "It's the best way to learn. What's the matter with you?"

"How about instead of inviting a bunch of strange men here, we ask Selina and her husband?" Andrew suggested. "I would feel much more comfortable with that. Matthew wanted me to check on her, anyway."

"Oh, all right," Jake sighed. "Let's go."

* * *

"Oh, my god!" Amelia cried when she saw Selina in her new hair and short leather outfit. "What in the world is wrong with you?"

"I decided to get a new look," Selina replied. "Do you have a problem with that? Even if you do, it doesn't matter cause this is _my_ life."

"Of course," Amelia replied, looking a little frightened and backing into Andrew's arms. "We had a favor to ask you, but now I see that it might be better to just leave you alone."

"What's the favor that you want?" Selina asked. "If you ask me nice, I might be willing to help. Uncle Andrew's not a pain in the ass like Dad is."

"We heard from a warlock that we're going to be brought back to life at some point and I need help modernizing," Andrew told her. "Would you and Elijah help us?"

"Sure," Selina shrugged. "Just let me have a drink first." She downed half a bottle of gin, burped, and then went to get Elijah. But of course they got distracted and ended up having sex, so by the time they were dressed again and Selina came back to where her uncle and mother had been waiting, they were gone. Selina looked at where they'd been, blew a raspberry, put up her middle finger, and let her naked husband (who'd finished the rest of the gin) pull her back to bed with him.


	20. Pregnancy Problems

Matthew woke up early one morning to hear Christine being sick in the bathroom. As he knew it was a usual occurrence for a pregnant woman, he didn't think much of it, but because it was just how he was, he got out of bed and knocked on the bathroom door. "Are you all right?" He called. "Anything out of the ordinary going on? Do you want me to help you?"

"No, thank you," Christine replied. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. Go back to sleep if you can." She'd also had the same attitude about needing help with things like bathing, which were becoming difficult for her suddenly, and it took the longest time for her to admit that she needed help. She also seemed to be _losing_ weight, oddly enough.

"All right," Matthew told her, despite a nagging certainty that he shouldn't leave her alone. If this kept on going, he would do something about it, he told himself. "If you say so. If you need anything, let me know." He got back in bed and tried to fall asleep, but despite her assurances that she'd be better soon, Christine didn't stop being sick. She just kept throwing up. Finally, she was lying on the bathroom floor, moaning about her head and how thirsty and dizzy she was.

"I'll get you some water," he said, picking her up and putting her in bed.

"I don't know if you should," Christine told him. "I might just throw it all up again."

"I bet you will," Matthew nodded. "But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try. You could die otherwise. And I don't think either of us wants that, right?"

"Right," Christine nodded. "Exactly."

So Matthew went and got her some water and tried to get her to drink it, then quickly drove her to the supernatural hospital and got her checked in. she was diagnosed with a sort of severe morning sickness whose technical name Matthew could hardly pronounce before they took her to a bedroom. "Everything is going to be all right," he assured her. "We'll get you through this."

Christine just smiled at him and reached up to touch his cheek. She was just as worried for him as he was for her. Cause the first time he'd had a kid, the idea that a wife, a baby, or both would die in during the pregnancy was common knowledge, but he probably figured that wouldn't be an issue now. Yet here they were, and he was having to endure that worry all over again.

"You're not gonna lose me," she promised. "The baby and I will get through it, and we'll be a family, I swear."

Matthew kissed her hand. "Please don't make any promises you can't keep. I don't know if I can deal with that."

"It's gonna be fine," Christine said again with confidence. "Weren't you supposed to have lunch with Selina today? You should go and do that. It'll put your mind on something less worrisome."

"Are you sure?" Matthew asked. "I don't want you to feel like I'm abandoning you in your time of need."

"No, I'll be fine, I promise," Christine assured him. "Don't start skipping dates with Selina on my account. If you do that, even with a good reason, it'll just push the two of you apart even further and I don't want that." She looked much better now. She was being given fluids and blood through an IV was being monitored closely. "Please go. You can come right back after. I'll still be here. What I have, it's not

"I don't know," Matthew replied. "With all that's happening to you, I feel like I can't take my eyes off you for a minute."

"Just go," Christine urged him. "Please. What I have is just really bad morning sickness. They know how to handle this."

"All right, I will," Matthew assured her. "I promise." And he really _did_ try to do as she requested, but his noble nature ended up winning out in the end. He called his daughter to give her the bad news, both about Christine (even though he doubted she would care) and their lunch plans, which would have to be changed.

* * *

The phone rang as Selina was doing her yoga and she answered it when she saw it was from her father. Given Andrew's report, he was very concerned about her and had asked her to come and talk to him. She agreed on the condition that Christine wouldn't be there and they wouldn't say a word about her. Matthew agreed to that stipulation and they had made lunch plans, which Christine's hospitalization interrupted.

"She's very sick, darlin'," Matthew explained. "I know we promised that I wouldn't say a word about her, but I just wanted to tell you why I might not be the best lunch companion today." He expected her to say something snarky and insolent, but instead, her voice was hushed, and he even heard a bit of worry in it, which surprised him very much.

"Christine is sick?" She asked. "Is she going to be okay? What about...what about the baby?"

"They say she'll be fine," Matthew told her. And then to his surprise, she said, "I want to come down and see her. We can have lunch in the hospital cafeteria. What's her room number?"

"You want to see her?" He asked. "Why?"

"Because while I may not be entirely comfortable with what you two did, or how it changed our whole relationship to the point where I feel sort of left out, she's sick and pregnant and I know what that's like," Selina explained. "I feel like I need to support her. Is that wrong?"

"Oh, of course it's not wrong," Matthew told her. "In fact, I think she might be glad to have a more calming influence visit her. You know I care deeply, but my first impulse when dealing with an ill pregnant wife is to panic. That's just what I'm used to."

"All right," Selina replied. "I'll get dressed and be there as soon as I can."

"You won't be wearing leather, will you?" Matthew asked.

"No," Selina shook her head. "I'll dress normally, I promise. Oh, and don't tell her I'm coming; I want it to be a surprise."

"All right, Matthew agreed. "Whatever you say. And I'm…I'm very pleased and grateful for your help with this. I know that it's something that you're struggling with and I'm very thankful that you're able to put your bad feelings to help Christine out."

"It's no problem," Selina assured him. "Really, it's not."

* * *

When Selina came into Christine's room after she and Matthew had eaten and she'd sent her father home to rest, Christine sighed and said, "If you've come to kill me, go ahead. I'm too weak to fight back."

Selina, who was dressed in jeans and a sweater, said, "I didn't come to kill you. I came to help."

"What?" Christine asked. "Why would you want to help me?"

"Cause you're pregnant and you're sick," Selina told her and put a couple of balloons next to her hospital bed, one of which was a smiley face, and the other which said 'Get well soon'. "I might not really like you right now, but I know what that's like. It happened to me just before I turned. A witch cursed me to catch scarlet fever, and if our town doctor hadn't revealed himself as a vampire and given me his blood to save my life, I would have died, and the baby would have died too. Fortunately, though, medical technology is much better today." She grabbed Christine's hand and gave her a bit of a smile. "You'll be all right," she told her.

"Thank you," Christine replied, feeling very shocked. "That's what I told your father to calm him down. I'm glad to know it's not just complete bullshit. Where's your dad now? Please tell me you convinced him to go home and get some rest."

"That I did," Selina replied and pulled up a chair next to the bed. "And I think he needs a hobby, don't you? Something to occupy his mind. Not enough that he'll forget you, of course, but just something that will stop him from worrying himself sick, cause that's just not going to help anyone."

"I agree," Christine nodded. "But what sort of thing could do that?"

Selina thought a moment and then said, "He could come teach with Elijah and me at school. We need a new American history teacher."

"Do you?" Christine asked. "What happened to Mr. Roberts? Did he finally go too far and do something to get himself staked?"

"No, that's not it," Selina sighed. "Good guess, though. Actually, he got hammered, took off his ring (which I worked so hard to get for him) and just burned right up."

"Damn," Christine smiled. "I wish I could say that that surprises me. And I think the teaching job would be a good one for your father. He seems to have the right temperament for it."

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "I think so too."

Just then, there was another knock on the door of Christine's room. This time, it was Elijah, who was carrying some flowers. "I saw your note," he told Selina. "Thanks for leaving it for me." Then he came over to Christine and smiled as he pushed her dark hair out of her eyes. "Are you all right?" he asked. "Well, obviously, you're not all right because you're in a hospital, but is it serious?"

"Nothing they can't fix," Christine told him. "Thanks for the flowers. Daisies should cheer the room right up."

"You're welcome," Elijah replied and kissed her hair. "Do they have any idea why you're sick? You know, my great-nice Victoria just had some problems with her pregnancy too. She had to give birth early, but that was because she got possessed by the ghost of her husband's mother and the resulting expulsion of the ghost put so much stress on her body that they had no other choice but to take the babies out. It's not as bad as that, is it? It can't be."

"Well, they told me that it's a part of some women's pregnancies, but in my case, cause the baby is a result of sperm donation with a human father, my body may be having difficulties with it," Christine said. "It's a kind of extreme morning sickness Not that it will be a problem in the long run, but for the moment, it's causing trouble."

"Ah," Elijah nodded. "All right." Then he turned and saw a nurse coming down the hallway. Assuming that she was coming to tell them to leave Christine alone so she could rest, Elijah took Selina's hand and said, "It seems like we have to go now, but we'll be back later."

"I hope so," Christine replied. "I'd like that. Goodbye."

"Goodbye," Elijah said, just as the nurse arrived. He assured her they were leaving, and then she took Christine's vitals and left her to sleep.


	21. Playing With Fire

"I can't believe you've finally moved in here," Charlotte told Amelia as she looked around Jake's house. "I was so surprised when I went to Matthew's house to look for you, and he told me where you'd gone."

"Do you disapprove?" Amelia asked. "Am I going to get some sort of lecture about moving in with a man that I'm not married to?"

"No, of course I won't lecture you for finally getting your head on straight and going to live with the man you love," Charlotte said, her blue eyes bright. "If you'd done it when you were alive, think about how many problems could have been avoided."

"But that's just it," Amelia informed her. "I _did_ move in with him when I was alive. Right after my parents died. You were dead by then, though, so you wouldn't have been around to see it."

"Ah," Charlotte nodded. "Well, I hope you did. It was the best thing for everyone, including your daughter."

"Oh, it was," Amelia nodded. "That was probably the first time I ever felt like a competent mother. Then he up and died and I was left alone again."

"You did?" Charlotte asked Andrew. "How in the world did you die? Was it disease?"

"No," Andrew colored a little. "Gambling game gone wrong, I got shot, the end."

"Oh, for heaven's sake!" Charlotte reproached him. "Couldn't you have put that sort of behavior behind you? Didn't you _know_ that something like that could happen to you? Why couldn't you think of Amelia instead of yourself?" She scoffed. "Maybe she was better off marrying your brother after all."

"Don't you talk to him like that!" Amelia remonstrated her friend, much to Andrew's surprise. "He _was_ planning on giving it up. He told me so before he left that it would be his last game. The fact that he happened to get shot that time was just bad luck!"

"Are you all right?" Andrew asked her. "You've _never_ defended my gambling before. You've always been just as uptight about it as Charlotte is. What's changed?"

"Well, it's like picking on your family," Amelia said. "People _in_ the family are allowed to do it, but when other people outside do it, it's stepping over a line."

"I just hope you realize what you're getting into with this attempt to start over again," Charlotte told her. "Because I wouldn't want to see you be how you were in life all over again because you made a bad choice."

"I think I'll be fine," Amelia replied. "But thank you for your concern." She paused. "And you know, maybe we should start looking for someone for you. What do you think?"

"Are you out of your mind?" Charlotte cried. "I'm married, remember?"

"But really, how good was your marriage with Giuseppe?" Amelia asked. "He was only slightly better to you than Robert Pierce was to me. He cared more about his boys than he did you."

"Well, that was just his way," Charlotte replied. "And it's not like I ever put up with his nonsense anyway."

"Don't you think you deserve better than that, though?" Amelia asked. "Think of everything you used to tell me about Robert Pierce, and I'm going to tell you the same thing about Giuseppe. Your vows with him only went until death do you part. Now you're both dead. You can move on and get someone better."

"Perhaps," Charlotte said reflectively. "But finding that person…that's going to be difficult. I have standards, you know?"

"Yes, I know," Amelia nodded and hugged Andrew. "But you never know. It could happen at any time. Just like Andrew and me. We had to wait all that time, and now we both know that we're gonna be brought back to life soon."

"Well, I wish you the best of luck," Charlotte told them. "I mean that."

* * *

"Are you sure it's a good idea to send her home?" Matthew asked the doctor, his voice full of worry. "I don't want to take Christine out of here if it'll just happen again."

"She's handled things well for a couple of days, so it's entirely possible that what she's going through is over," the doctor assured him. "However, it wouldn't hurt to have someone watch her. Do you have anyone that could do that?"

"Do I really need someone to watch me?" Christine asked from her wheelchair as they wheeled her out to Matthew's car. "If you say I'm better, I should be able to handle things myself."

"No, if they say someone needs to watch you, then I will," Matthew replied.

"It's very sweet, but you know you can't. You start work tomorrow," Christine reminded him.

"Well, I'll just tell them that I can't take the job," Matthew told her.

"No, you can't do that!" Christine shook her head. "Selina doesn't have class. We'll just call her and ask if she can watch me while you teach. It'll be fine, I promise."

"And what if she _can't_ watch you?" Matthew asked. "What will we do then? I know you think I'm being ridiculous and a nuisance, but I'm truly terrified of leaving you alone and with no one to help you in case something goes wrong."

"Then we'll think of something else," Christine told him. "And don't you say you're gonna quit the job before you even have a chance to start it. That's _not_ an option!"

"I really think you'll have less to worry about now, sir," the doctor told him. "Listen to your wife."

"All right," Matthew agreed. "It'll be hard, especially considering how she looked before we brought her here. I just don't want her to go through that again."

"I don't either," Christine told him as they reached the car. "Believe me."

* * *

To ease Matthew's mind, Christine called Selina as soon as they got home and told her of her father's worries.

"Sure I can come over and watch you for him," Selina told her. "It won't be every day of course, but I'll come and do it when I can for sure. You want to hand the phone over to Daddy so I can tell _him_ that?"

"Yes," Christine nodded, her dark eyes bright. "Yes I do." She handed the phone over to Matthew so he could hear the same reassuring words Selina had told Christine.

"All right," Matthew nodded. "You're being very kind, dear, but it's not interfering with your work, is it? I wouldn't want you to be fired just because you're doing something kind for me."

"Oh, no," Selina said. "It doesn't interfere with work. I don't teach every day, and I'll be coming on the days that I don't."

"All right," Matthew told her. "If it works for you, I guess it works for me."

"Good," Selina replied. "I'll see you and Christine tomorrow, Daddy. And you start your first day of work tomorrow, don't you?"

"Yes, I do," Matthew nodded. "I'm a bit nervous, though."

"Oh, I don't know why," Selina said. "You'll do wonderful."

"I really hope so," Matthew told her. "Cause honestly, I'm not quite sure what I've gotten myself into and I hope it goes all right."

* * *

"Daddy, you can go now," Selina told her father patiently as she and Christine tried to push him out the door the next day. "If you don't leave now, you're going to be late!"

"Are you sure you ladies can handle things here?" He asked, looking back and forth between them.

" _Yes_!" Selina and Christine said forcefully at the same time. Then Selina added, "You don't want to be late on your first day of work, do you?"

"No," Matthew sighed. "That wouldn't be good." He kissed Christine and told her goodbye, then he hugged his daughter and told her 'Thank you' before taking one last, long look at the pair and marching out to his car.

Once he was gone, Christine said to Selina, "You're not gonna make me stay in bed, are you?"

"No," Selina shook her head. "If you're not feeling unwell, why would I?"

"Thank you," Christine hugged her hard. "I'm so happy to hear you say that."

"Yeah," Selina said, thinking of how much of a worrywart her father was. "I bet you are." She paused. "You want to leave the house and go out for a drive? How are you about eating now?"

"I would _love_ to get out of the house," Christine replied. "And I could really go for a hamburger and fries. What about you?"

"Add a shake to that and I'm in!" Selina told her. "Are you ready to go? Let's take my car! And maybe we could get baby stuff after. What do you think? Is it too soon?"

Christine shrugged. "I don't know if it's too soon. You know better than I would."

"Let's at least look at things," Selina replied. "I don't think a little shopping would hurt. Maybe get a few things in some non gender-specific colors since you don't know what you're having yet."

"Sure," Christine nodded, not really caring where they were going or what they were doing just as long as she could get out of the house for some air. "Let's go!"

They left and by the time they got back, they were both loaded down with bags, which shocked Matthew when he came home.

"What's all this?" He asked in surprise.

"Selina and I went baby stuff shopping today!" Christine informed him. "How was your first day teaching?"

"It went well enough, I guess," Matthew replied. "No horrible incidents or anything, so I consider that a victory." He sat down and let out a groan. "But it's so great to be home, though."

"Were you worried all day?" Christine asked him. "Please tell me you weren't."

"Not about you," Matthew assured her. "But I _am_ concerned about what we're gonna do on the days Selina is teaching."

"Oh, we'll figure something out," Selina told him. "I promise."

* * *

It wasn't long after, however, that the situation resolved itself. Selina got a new boy in her class, a made vampire who, along with his mother, had been transformed during a robbery. He wasn't happy to have to go to school even after he died, so getting him to pay attention to anything was a bit of a problem. He had absolutely no respect for her authority either, no matter how patient Selina was.

There were days when she just wanted to kill him, but as his mother, even in her vampire state, was still very wealthy and one of the biggest donors to the school and would surely pull the donation if anything happened to her son, so Selina kept quiet.

That is, until one day when the boy's antics caused the classroom (and some parts of the school) to catch on fire and many of his witch and werewolf classmates were sent to the hospital with burns. It was then that Selina had had enough and actually threatened him and gave him a smack.

"I'm gonna tell my mother you did that," he said, putting a hand to his cheek. "And I'm also gonna tell her that you've been failing me on purpose cause you're a bad teacher."

"No, I'm failing you because you truly suck at everything we do in here, and it's your fault that the fire started," Selina replied. "I would love nothing more than to kill you so I never have to look at your smarmy little face again."

 _That_ threat got her called to the principal's office a few days later where she was met by the smirking boy, his angry mother, and the principal, no longer Viktor's former wife Alexandra, but a werewolf who was firm but fair in his discipline.

"There she is!" The boy cried when Selina entered the room. "There's the woman who threatened to kill me!"

"Mr. Lasky, I want this woman fired!" The mother cried, bringing her perfectly manicured hand down hard on his desk. "If she's not shy about threatening my son, who knows what she's planning to do to the other students?"

"I'm sure Ms. Warren didn't mean to threaten your son," the principal replied. "The fire was a stressful situation for everyone. But I'm sure she'd be willing to apologize now."

"Good," The woman replied, glaring at Selina. "Cause if she doesn't, I'm afraid I will have to pull my donation from this school. It would be a shame to see it closed down because some woman couldn't keep hold of her temper and took her anger out on a poor defenseless student."

"Excuse me," Selina said at last. "Your son is not a poor, defenseless angel. He _started_ the fire! He put lots of his classmates in the hospital! I tell you what, he should be put in jail for that. _He_ is the menace! Not me! And I _won't_ apologize. I'm sorry, Mr. Lasky. I just can't."

"Then you have doomed this school," he told her as the mother and son prepared to leave. "I hope you're proud of yourself, Ms. Warren."

Selina then grabbed both mother and son and fed off of them until they lay dead on the principal's office floor.

"Oh, goodness," she said, shutting her eyes and savoring the moment as she licked the mother's blood off her fingers. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting to do that!"

"But what about the school?" The principal asked. He'd gone white as a sheet. "You better have a way to make up for the lost funds!"

"Oh, I do," Selina replied, grabbing her checkbook out of her purse and writing out a check for the amount the woman usually gave, which was around a million dollars. "There you go," she said. "Is that enough compensation for what I did?"

"Yes," The principal nodded, feeling kind of amazed that the woman he thought of as a hippie type most of the time had that much money so readily accessible. "Monetarily, we're even. But I don't think I should just let murder go. If it gets out that a teacher is killing students and parents, it could be disastrous!"

"I know," Selina agreed. "But I'm not the only one that had a problem with that kid. _Anyone_ on the staff could have murdered him. Why don't I take a couple of months off, and then when all this blows over, I'll come back?"

"And you're all right with that?" The principal asked in surprise. "Really?"

"Oh, yes," Selina nodded. "I have a perfect way to spend the time."

* * *

"So let me get this straight," Elijah said to her in the car on the way home. "You killed the really annoying boy and his mother, causing the school to lose the donation she usually gave, but you haven't been fired."

"No," Selina shook her head. "I paid the school back with money from my own pocket. It's not like I don't have more than enough that I hardly ever spend. And I assured Principal Lasky that I would be willing to take a few months' break so no one would think the school was unsafe to send their kids to. It's okay. It'll make it easier for me to watch Christine for Daddy anyway." She paused. "Are you going to scold me for what I did?"

Elijah scoffed. "You know that I normally _do_ frown on you taking lives, but that boy and his mother…I've never met such terrible people! They even pushed me to _my_ limits! After a class with him, I would often fantasize about the time I spent helping with the Spanish Inquisition. Seeing that boy on the rack was particularly satisfying. Since that boy and his mother were nowhere near innocent, I won't scold you for what you did…just don't make a habit of it, all right?"

"All right," Selina assured him. "I promise."


	22. A Surprise At The Door

"Okay, you got the bodies?" The boy asked as several of his compatriots entered the basement of the boy's parents' house carrying two large plastic garbage bags. The room was dark and they tried their best to be quiet so no one would hear them, even though the boy's parents were out of town, there were still plenty of neighbors about who would blab if they saw.

"Yeah, we got them," one of the boys said. "And it was a good thing we had magic to hold them together with too, otherwise they would have just fallen apart."

They took their time and soon, Andrew's bones were set out next to Amelia's on a table.

"We are gonna get in _so_ much trouble for this," a scared boy with shaggy dark hair and big brown eyes said. "It's illegal to bring bodies to life with magic!"

"Oh, would you shut up?" One of the bigger boys who had curly red hair and a freckled face spat and gave him a push. "The council has to know that kids experiment from time to time. Really, how much trouble could we get in? Plus, these two will probably thank us for bring them back to life anyway, so what are we really doing wrong?"

"We're obviously doing _something_ wrong if there's a law against it," the big eyed boy continued. "And what if these people are like, criminals or something and we're releasing them back into the world? Then will everything they do be our fault?"

"No, it'll be _their_ fault," the redhead replied and then turned to a skinny blond boy with a tattoo of a dragon on his wrist and eyes that were light blue and sunken. "We should do this fast before people lose their nerves and give everything away. Come on, Steve."

"Oh, all right," Steve replied and spat. "I'll do it. Just don't rush me. This is delicate work." He then began chanting as he stared at the bodies intently. The bones began to rattle, then moved as if they were sitting up. A couple of boys let out squeaks of terror and huddled close to one another as Steve continued to recite the resurrection spell, his voice rising in pitch. Then, magic swirled around the bodies and as light coursed through them, they began to look more like people, with muscles and skin and very defined faces. When it was all over, the boys stared uncertainly at naked Andrew and naked Amelia, gawking openly.

Eventually, though, she finally got tired of it. "Oh, for heaven's sake!" She snapped, shaking her blonde hair out of her eyes. "Shut your mouths and avert your eyes. And would someone kindly tell me where I am?"

Instead of answering her, though, all the boys let out shrieks and ran away.

"Good job, Amelia," Andrew told her, giving her a light punch on the shoulder. "It's nice to know you still know how to make friends."

"It makes no sense to me why they would run off like that," Amelia replied. "I don't understand." She paused then and began pinching herself. "I'm here!" She cried. "I'm alive!"

"Are you sure?" Andrew asked. For some reason, he thought it would be a good idea to run into the wall and test that theory.

"All, right, we are," Andrew confirmed, putting a hand on his head. "No further tests needed."

"We have to get out of here," Amelia told him. "Those boys are probably so terrified that they're gonna bring someone _else_ here to gawk at us, and I don't know if I can stand that! Those boys were bad enough."

"Oh, be calm," Andrew said. "They thought you were beautiful! But you're probably right. We do need to go. But where to, I have no idea."

"It doesn't matter," Amelia replied, grabbing his hand. "Let's just go and hope there's no one around to spot us until we find a safe place to be."

* * *

"I don't know why you're laughing so hard," Amelia huffed at Andrew as they walked, still naked and doing the best they could to conceal their bare bodies. Or at least Amelia was. Since it was dark, Andrew felt no such compulsion, his laughter making him seem absolutely ridiculous. "None of this is funny and will you stop _staring_ at me like that? It's bad enough that those boys were without you adding to the problem. We're liable to get arrested. The last thing we need is you being all, you know, wanting me and stuff. You have to have some dignity!"

"Well, how could I _not_ want you?" Andrew asked earnestly. "You're the most gorgeous woman I've ever seen." He got close to her and began nuzzling her neck.

"Thank you for the compliment," Amelia told him, stepping away after a few seconds of this and trying to ignore just how good he smelled so she wouldn't jump him too. "But I'm really not in a state where I can enjoy it. I just wanna get a roof over my head, get on some clothes, and really soak in the fact that I'm alive again and you are too. This isn't how I thought it would be at all."

"I had some thoughts on the subject that were very close to this," Andrew winked. "Would you like to hear them?"

"No," Amelia shook her head. "Now shut up and come on!"

They kept walking and Andrew said, "Just where are you thinking of living? You wanna rough it? That's something I would pay money to see."

Since the moon hung bright overhead, he could see her expression clearly.

"If you're suggesting that I live outdoors like an animal, you don't know me well at all," Amelia sniffed. "I refuse to do that! I want a house!"

" _Whose_ house, though?" Andrew prodded. "Do you even know where we are?"

"Not really," Amelia shook her head. "Do _you_ know?"

After some time, they managed to get themselves headed toward Selina's, hoping that she would be able to help them despite the lateness of the hour and the odd situation they found themselves in.

* * *

"Oh, my god!" Selina cried when she opened the door to a familiar knock and saw her naked mother and uncle on the other side, their hands covering certain places. "Let me guess: the two of you aren't selling Girl Scout cookies."

"No, we're naked and we need clothes!" Andrew said, stepping into the house. "Do you think your husband and I are the same size?"

"Who is it at the door?" Christine called from upstairs where she was resting. "Your father hasn't finished with his meetings and come to pick me up, has he?"

"No, it's not my father," Selina called back, her eyes still slightly averted. "Don't come downstairs until I tell you to, all right?"

"Can I ask why?" Christine wanted to know.

"It's none of your business," Amelia called out just before Selina hustled her and Andrew to the master bedroom to see what she could get them to wear.

"And don't bother asking how we got like this," Amelia told her. "You probably want to know why we're alive, but we're just figuring that out ourselves. Once we know, we'll tell you."

"Actually, I was more focused on getting you dressed," Selina told her. "Once we do that, then yes, I have quite a few questions."

When they were dressed, Selina sat them both down on the bed and said, "So…are you two alive now?"

"Obviously we are, or you wouldn't have been able to dress us, would you?" Amelia snapped.

"You'll have to excuse your mother," Andrew told Selina. "When we came to life, it was in a room full of curious young boys and I think being gawked at has made your mother upset."

"You're damn right it has," Amelia grumbled, shifting her clothes around. While she wasn't exactly swimming in them, they were just slightly too big for her, just like Elijah's clothes were a smidge tight on Andrew who was more muscular than Elijah was.

"Sorry they're a little big," Selina apologized.

"What do you have to apologize for?" Amelia asked. "It's better than nothing. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Selina replied. "Do you two have a place to live now? I assume you don't since this whole 'coming to life' thing just happened. Right?"

"Exactly," Andrew nodded. "But you've already done enough for us."

"Yes," Amelia agreed. "We can go stay at Jake's until things get sorted out."

"Oh, don't be silly," Selina waved that away. "It's late at night and we have lots of room. Stay here."

"It won't be an inconvenience for your husband?" Amelia asked.

"Oh, please," Selina replied. "With all the inconvenience his family has caused _me_ over the years, he owes me this. And he's too polite to say 'No' after I've already promised you anyway."

They were still talking some time later when Elijah came into the room and started. "Selina," he said while glaring at Andrew, whose hair was shaggy and face scruffy. He definitely wasn't at his best, and the fact that he was wearing Elijah's casual clothes as opposed to his more formal ones just emphasized that. "Selina, what is that homeless person doing wearing my clothes? I know you like to help random strangers as a way to make up for what you did when you were Lonely Heart, but you can't bring all of them into our house!"

It was then that Amelia, who was in the closet, came out in her underwear look at the dress she'd just removed so she could be sure not to pick the same type again, and shrieked at the sight of her son-in-law, covering herself up with her hands. "Oh, for heaven's sake, not again! Why don't I just stand on a street corner and let _every_ man get a good look at me!"

"What are you talking about?" Elijah shouted back. "If I want to be in here, I can. It's _my_ room, damn it!"

"Okay, everyone just take deep breaths and calm down while I explain," Selina said. Then she said to her husband, "Elijah, this is my mom and my uncle. You remember my mother, right? They were brought back to life by some young warlocks or something and they needed clothes and a place to stay, so I told them that they could stay here until they had their feet under them."

"And that shouldn't take long," Amelia assured him. "We have jobs. Or at least the education that we need to get them."

"It's okay for them to stay, right?" Selina asked. "They can't just go live in the street."

Elijah sighed. "I suppose they can stay," he said. "You deserve that much after all my family's put you through."

"Thank you," Selina replied.

"You're welcome," he told her. He then apologized to Amelia and left the room so she could put clothes on without him looking.

When she was dressed, Selina took them to other rooms in the house. "I assume you'll want to sleep separately?" She asked her mother.

"If there's enough room, yes, I think I would prefer that," Amelia replied. "And why do you think that Christine was looking at us as we made our way here?"

"Well, we're supposed to be dead, aren't we?" Andrew reminded her. "So I suppose seeing us like this is a bit of a shock for her."

"Oh, right," Amelia nodded. "Of course." She then followed Selina to a room not far from the master bedroom. It had been her daughter Margaret's and had what was probably the most mature look of all the rooms besides Selina and Elijah's.

"I think you'll like this room here," Selina told her. "I know it's not exactly what you're used to, but…I hope it will be good enough."

Amelia gave her daughter a long look and then reached out to hug her. "Thank you," she said. "It will be just fine."

The room she gave Andrew had a bathroom in it, and when he saw that, he gave her a look. " _You_ think I need to clean up too?" He asked. "Do I really look that bad?"

"Well, you _have_ been dead for several years," Selina reminded him. "I just thought you might like a chance to freshen up. Maybe get under some hot water?"

"I wouldn't want anyone to have to go to all the extra effort for my sake," Andrew replied. "A cold bath will be fine."

"Oh, don't be silly," Selina told him. "Indoor plumbing is good. The water warms itself. You don't have to go outside or anything. Didn't you notice that when you were staying with Daddy?"

"Actually, I had my mind on other things," Andrew replied. "But I'll be damned." He then watched in amazement as Selina turned the hot water on. "Come and stick your hand under," she encouraged.

Andrew did so, and then smiled. "Well, my god," he said. "I think I like that."

"Are you gonna be okay?" Selina asked. "Can I get you anything else? Towels are in the cabinet, and soap and wash clothes are in reach. Do you need me to grab you a razor and some shaving cream?"

"Yes, please," Andrew nodded. "That's the last thing I will ask of you."

"All right," Selina smiled. "I'll be back in a minute." By the time she'd located the shaving things, she assumed that her uncle was comfortable in his bath, so she only opened the door a crack and slipped the shaving things inside, saying, "just like I told Mama, if you two want to eat after you've cleaned yourselves off, there's plenty of stuff in the kitchen. Just let me know and I'll get it for you."

"Thank you," Andrew called back. "And if you see your father, don't tell him that I'm here. I'd like to do that myself."

"All right," Selina said amiably. "Whatever you say."


	23. The First Day Of A New Life

Amelia woke up the next morning to a knock on her door. It took some time for it to register, but soon she got out of bed and went to answer it. It was, of course, Andrew, who was looking back at her. "Well, good morning," she told him.

"Good morning," Andrew greeted with a smile. "I just thought that I would come and see how your evening was. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, I did," Amelia nodded. "Would you like to come in?"

"Yes, I would, thank you," Andrew nodded and sat down in the desk chair so Amelia could sit on the bed. They stared at one another for a long moment and then Amelia stood up and said, "I'm going to dress for breakfast. Selina left me a dress, so would you help me zip it up?"

"Of course," Andrew nodded. "Would you like me to avert my eyes until you say so?"

Amelia thought about this. On the one hand, yes, he should because to do anything else wasn't really proper…but on the other, he'd already seen everything she had anyway, and…she felt she needed to throw the poor man a bone after making him sleep on his own. "No," she decided. "You don't have to shut your eyes. You can look if you want."

"Are you serious?" Andrew asked in surprise.

Amelia didn't respond, but instead slowly removed her long t-shirt, under which was nothing but her panties. Those she deftly slid off, and then grabbed the other pair, all the while not looking at Andrew, but still being able to hear his panting behind her back as she grinned to herself. She put her dress on and then finally turned to Andrew. "Would you zip it now, please?" She asked, trying not to laugh at the look on his face. He was obviously immensely aroused.

"No," he said at last. "I would not." He did the best he could to get up and make his way across the room before grabbing at Amelia, which made them both fall back on to the mattress. They began kissing deeply, but as she felt his hands sneak under the skirt of her dress, she said, "Wait just a minute. We can't do this now."

"Why not?" He groaned. "Make up your mind, would you? Being a tease is only attractive when you know it's not gonna last forever!"

"I know," Amelia told him. "And I'm sorry, but there's one thing I have to do before we get intimate."

"Yes?" Andrew asked testily. "And what's that?"

"I have to get birth control!" Amelia cried. "It wasn't necessary when I was a vampire, but now I'm assuming that I'm human and thus I can get pregnant. And I think…I think I'm not ready for that yet."

"Well, that I can understand," Andrew replied. "We just came back to life, so we should adjust to that first. How sure are you that you're human? And is this birth control easily accessible?"

"Yes, it is," Amelia nodded. "Easy enough, anyway." She paused. "Although the kind that _you_ would use, the condoms, all we need to do is pick those up at the store!"

"All right," Andrew nodded. "Let's do that! Not now, of course. But later."

"Good," Amelia smiled and leaned over to give him a light kiss. Then she said, "We should probably go downstairs before Selina comes up here looking for us."

"I agree," Andrew told her. He quickly zipped up her dress and then went to get changed himself before they went downstairs.

"Sorry we're late," Amelia apologized to her daughter. "It takes some time to get dressed in the morning."

"You dress for breakfast?" Elijah asked in amazement. "Not many people do anymore. I appreciate that."

"Well, as you remember, I come from a more formal time, and so does Andrew," Amelia told him and put her napkin in her lap.

As Selina brought her a plate of pancakes, she realized that her daughter _wasn't_ dressed. She opened her mouth to say something, but then figured that since her daughter had taken her in and was feeding her, it wouldn't be polite. Everything was fine until Amelia went to drink her orange juice and then felt a burning sensation in her throat as her body began to break out in blisters.

"Oh, my god!" Andrew cried and grabbed her after tossing the orange juice away. "What the hell did you put in that orange juice, Selina?"

"Some wolfsbane," Selina confessed. "I wanted to check and see what you were, Mama. I figured you probably weren't a vampire anymore because the light comes into your room in the morning and you haven't been fried without a ring, but I wasn't sure about the werewolf side. I'm sorry."

"Water," Amelia managed to get out. "Water."

Andrew got her the water and soon, her throat felt better and her skin cleared up.

"Any more bright ideas?" Andrew chided his niece.

"No," Selina shook her head, her face flushed scarlet as she stared down at her plate. "I'm good. Do you think I should invite Daddy over today so he can see you? Or do you want to wait?"

"Let's get it over with now," Andrew replied. "No use waiting longer than we have to." He then hugged Amelia to himself and kissed her hair as she continued to eat her pancakes.

* * *

"I just hope the group of you understand the seriousness of what you've done," Astrid scolded the group of boys after James brought them in. "There's a reason why people aren't allowed to bring back the dead with magic: think about how humans would react if they saw someone they knew was dead just strolling down the street! It would _terrify_ them and very possibly give away more about our existence then needs to be given out!"

"Are you gonna do one of the old punishments on us?" Steve the ringleader asked her as the big eyed boy whimpered in fear. "Tie us to poles and set us on fire?"

"No," Astrid shook her head. "But we're gonna find those bodies you resurrected and undo what you did. And after that, you'll have your magic taken away for a couple of days."

They were just preparing to go when Clarence showed up out of nowhere. "And where are _we_ going?" He asked interestedly.

"It's none of your business," James said shortly because for some reason Clarence really irritated him. Probably because his status as a maker of love matches had interfered with James' previous job of torturing people who'd misused magic in the name of love. "Go away, Clarence. We have to undo a resurrection that these boys did."

"Oh, don't you dare!" Clarence replied. "The pair that those boys resurrected were meant to be together but were separated. Now is the first chance they have to be together in a long time. And you wouldn't want to ruin that, would you?"

"Oh, damn, _seriously?"_ James swore and groaned. "This is just too much. I can't take it anymore!"

"Are you _sure_ about that, Clarence?" Astrid asked. "I don't want to let this mess go unless you're absolutely certain."

"Well, here's how we can be certain," Clarence replied. He looked at the boys and said, "Did you get a good look at the pair after you brought them back to life?"

"Yeah, we did," Steve remarked. "The woman was hot!"

Clarence then zapped up pictures of Amelia and Andrew and said, "Is this the pair you brought back? Do you remember enough to be able to tell me that?"

Steve leaned forward and studied the photos. "Yep," he said. "That's them."

"There you go, Amelia," he said with a smile, his shining white teeth a contrast with his dark complexion. "They did a good thing."

"Yeah, and they're damn lucky about it, too," Astrid replied.

"So do we get to go home?" Steve asked.

"Yes," Astrid replied. "But only after we call your parents and then I take your magic away for a couple of days. That should teach you a lesson about just deciding to raise the dead and risking the lives of everyone in the magical community."

* * *

"All right, darlin'," Matthew said as Selina urged him into the house later that day. "What is it that you want me to see so badly?"

"It's a surprise," Selina told her father. "If I said what it was, it would give it away, and the person responsible for the surprise would be very upset with me."

"It's nothing weird, right?" Matthew asked. "Like, you haven't taken to killing people again or anything like that in protest of Christine being pregnant?"

"No, I'm over that," Selina assured him. "Just a question, did Christine tell you anything about her time here last night? Anything about seeing something strange?"

"No," Matthew shook his head. "Now tell me what the surprise is or you're going to drive me insane!"

"Hello!" Andrew said brightly, popping up in front of his brother, a wide grin on his face and his dark eyes sparkling. "I bet you didn't expect to see me!"

"Why you expecting me to be surprised?" Matthew asked, looking very underwhelmed. "I've seen you every day for so long, brother! It's not shocking at all."

"But not alive, you haven't," Amelia replied, coming up next to Andrew, then going up to her former husband and touching him. "We're alive. See?"

 _That_ got a reaction out of poor Matthew. "If you're alive, you better stay away from Christine and me!" He said, backing away. "What you and I had is over, and now that I finally have a chance to be happy with a wife and child, you are _not_ going to ruin it!"

"I know you're worried and based on how I've acted before, you have every right to be," Amelia told him apologetically. "But now that I have your brother, I have no interest in getting in the way of you and Christine. I promise."

"Exactly," Andrew added. "In fact, we'll probably be so busy having sex that we won't even think about you!"

Amelia elbowed him in the gut as Matthew tried to calm down.

"Well, good," he said at last. I'm very happy for you and…I wish you the best of luck."

"Thank you," Andrew told him. "We're happy for you too."

"All right," Matthew nodded. "If you don't mind, I'm going to go home now. I think I need a really stiff drink." He gave Selina a kiss and then quickly excused himself, going home to ask Christine why she hadn't thought to mention to him that Amelia was alive when she had been at Selina and Elijah's the night before.


	24. Acting Like Rabbits

"So you're telling me that when I thought I saw Amelia at the house, she was actually _there_?" Christine asked Matthew. She felt very stunned. "I am _so_ sorry that I didn't mention it earlier. I thought it was just a hallucination that my brain saw and I didn't want to worry you unnecessarily."

"You're so sweet," Matthew told her and pulled her to himself, kissing her hair. "But Amelia said that neither of us has any cause to worry. She's moved on with my brother and that's it."

"Good," Christine nodded. "That's the way it should be: you're ex-wife is no longer crazy and possessive and your daughter seems to accept that we're together and is even offering to help with baby stuff. If that's as good as it gets, I can accept it." Then Christine paused. "I want to meet your brother. I mean, I know I met him when he was a ghost, and he seemed to like me, but I kind of want to meet him now that he's alive, too. Amelia wouldn't have to come of course. I don't think either of us would want that."

"You know, I think your meeting my brother is a good idea," Matthew agreed with a smile of approval. "I'll see what I can do about setting something up. And you make a good point about Amelia: She seems okay with us now, but I see no reason to insist my brother make it a double date."

Christine yawned then. "I'm so sleepy," she said. "It's inconvenient, but it's better than being horribly ill like I was."

"I think we can both be glad you're not horribly ill anymore," Matthew nodded. "Why don't you go take a nap while I go call my brother and ask him if he's okay with us meeting?"

"All right," Christine nodded. "Sounds good." Then she sighed. "I can't wait til I'm able to go out and hike and be on the horses again! I bet they really miss me!"

"I know Jack and Zeke are starting to get tired of just being taken out by me," Matthew told her and then headed to the phone. He dialed Selina and Elijah's number, and when his daughter answered, he said, "Can I talk to your uncle, please? Is he around?"

"He's around, but he and Mama have been really busy since they got here," Selina replied. "Please don't make me tell you what they've been doing. You wouldn't want to know."

"Oh, I'm sure I can imagine it, unfortunately," Matthew replied. "When he is able to pause in that for a moment, would you tell him to call me? Christine said she wants to meet him again, you know, since he's alive and all now, and I want to see if he's up for that. If he can pry himself away from your mother. Cause as you can understand, Christine's a bit nervous about her coming to the meeting too."

"Mama's actually much better than she used to be," Selina assured him. "She found out that I don't dress for breakfast, and although I could just tell she wanted to scold me, she kept her mouth shut for once."

"Wow, really?" Matthew asked in amazement. "If that's true, it _is_ an improvement. Not that that means I'll be racing to make sure she and Christine have long talks, but it's nice to know she has actually tried to improve her attitude and we don't just have to go on her word."

"I think it's the sex," Selina replied. "It really seems to have helped her loosen up."

"That, and your uncle has _always_ had that effect on her, even outside the bedroom," Matthew said. "So none of what you're telling me is a big surprise. How are you and Elijah handling living with your mother? Is it all right?"

"Well, we're still adjusting," Selina replied. "It's kind of put a cramp in our usual routine, but we're managing."

"Good," Matthew replied. "Good. Remember, tell your uncle to call me if he ever has a free moment, all right? I'd really appreciate it."

"All right, Daddy," Selina assured him. "I will." She ended the call just in time to see her mother sneak down the stairs and grab a coat. "Do I need to ask where you're going?" She asked dryly.

"Oh, don't you judge me!" Amelia replied. "I've never had a relationship like this before and I want to enjoy it!"

"Don't worry, I'm not judging you!" Selina assured her. "I was just teasing! Elijah and I have eight kids, three of whom are triplets. I've been where you are. Plus, when I was with his brother, since he and I are both werewolves, it was even more pronounced."

"At the rate your uncle's going, I wonder if he and your father have a bit of werewolf in them that they don't know about," Amelia said. "That would be interesting, wouldn't it?"

"It would," Selina nodded. "Do you need my car keys?"

"Yes, I do," Amelia replied. "Thank you. And when I teach your uncle to drive, I _swear_ it won't be with your car."

"Thank you," Selina told her. "That's very considerate. Oh, and when you get back, before you two get too involved in things, would you tell Uncle Andrew that Daddy wants to talk to him? Christine wants to have a formal meeting and don't worry, you are under no obligation to come along with him. In fact, I think they'd prefer it if you stayed away, at least until they're firmly convinced that you're not after them anymore."

"Well, they have nothing to worry about," Amelia told her. "I need to go see Charlotte anyway and tell her what happened."

"It's good you have plans," Selina said. "Oh, and when I have time, I'll go see Astrid and talk to her about what should be done regarding you and Uncle Andrew getting jobs. You can teach English or literature or something, right? One of our English teachers at my school is about to go on maternity leave. Maybe you can sub for her just as a way to get started."

"Do you think it would be awkward, seeing as how you teach there?" Amelia asked.

"Well, actually, I might not _be_ there while you're subbing," Selina told her. "Not long ago, there was a bit of a kerfluffle between me and an unruly student and his bitchy mother. I ended up murdering both of them, and even though I made restitution, part of it was that I would stay home for a couple of months so it wouldn't look like the school condoned the murder of a student, even if he _was_ a repulsive little worm."

"You don't make a habit of murdering people, do you?" Amelia asked, her eyes wide.

"Not normally," Selina shook her head. "And if you're worried that what I did would cost you the job, don't worry, it won't. Principal Lasky is cool that way."

"Good," Amelia nodded. "That's just wonderful. I know it'll be easy for _me_ to get a job, but I'm worried about your uncle. He's good at what he does, but he was a self-taught lawyer, you know. He's never actually _been_ to law school or passed the bar, and that sort of thing doesn't fly now."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that," Selina assured her. "He knows what he's doing, so I'm sure Astrid could make up some sort of credentials for him."

"She will? Good," Amelia nodded. "Now I better go before your uncle comes down here and wonders why I haven't left yet."

"All right," Selina nodded. "See you when you get back."

* * *

"Did you get it? Did you get it?" Andrew asked as Amelia came in the bedroom with yet another box of condoms. "Let's crack it open!"

Amelia rolled her eyes, but smiled. "This is our second box and I only told you about them a week ago!" She said. "Does that tell you anything?"

"Yes," Andrew nodded. "We should be really grateful that they exist, shouldn't we?" He took one out and unwrapped it.

"Do you need me to help you put it on?" Amelia asked.

"No," Andrew smirked as he pushed the blankets off his naked body and watched Amelia remove what she'd put on to go to the store. "I don't need you to help me put it on. However, that doesn't mean you can't do it anyway."

Amelia's cheeks colored a little as she took the condom from his hand, got with him in bed, and then watched him lay back, that smirk still on his face as she slipped it on and rolled it down his shaft. He moaned as it was being put on and then afterward, Amelia leaned forward and kissed him as he put his arms around her, his hands sliding down her back and over her bottom.

"We have a lot of lost time to make up for," he told her.

"Oh, you better believe we do," she replied, shaking her hair out and taking his face in her hands so she could look into his dark eyes before throwing her arms around him as he slipped inside her and she let out a cry.

When they finally managed to separate and take a breath, that's when Amelia suddenly remembered what Selina had asked her to do.

"Before we have the next round, you have to call your brother," she said as Andrew began nibbling at her neck again. "Selina told me to mention it to you and I don't want to forget."

"What do I need to call him about?" Andrew asked. "Is it something that has to be dealt with immediately?"

"Well, it's not an emergency, if that's what you mean," Amelia answered. "His wife Christine just wants to formally meet you. But don't you think it would be good manners to call your brother back as soon as possible?"

Andrew sighed and sat up. "Oh, I suppose you're right," he said. "I guess I can pull myself away from you for a few minutes to go talk to my brother."

"Good," Amelia said with approval. "I'm proud of you."

"But I'll be back soon," Andrew assured her after getting covered up. "It won't take long, I promise."

* * *

"We have the house to ourselves at last," Elijah said as he and Selina toasted with red wine. "Is it just me, or are you _also_ glad that your uncle went out with your father and Christine tonight and your mother chose to go see Charlotte?"

"Oh, _believe me_ , it's not just you," Selina replied. "I know my mother is happy, and I'm glad for her, but my _god_ does she have to be so demonstrative? There are _children_ in this house! And by children, I mean me. I don't wanna hear any of that!"

"Exactly!" Elijah agreed. "How are _we_ supposed to have sex when we can't concentrate because _they're_ being too loud?"

"And did you see that Mama's made up a list of times when she and Uncle Andrew want the Jacuzzi tub?" Selina shuddered. "My god, I might never be able to go in there again if we don't stop this. Or at least make sure it's happening somewhere else."

"Now, now," Elijah said as he gulped down his wine. "We should be happy your mother is happy. If we ruin that, things could get just as bad as they used to be. And do you want that?"

"No," Selina shook her head. "I really don't. And this is probably just her getting years and years of celibacy out of her system. I was like that in the twenties."

"What was it for you?" Elijah asked. "How many years of celibacy before you and my brother 'rocked the casbah' as it were?"

"More than fifty," Selina said. "Not that that's much compared to how many years both Mama and Uncle Andrew have waited. So we'll bear it with patience and ask that they give us at least a night a week to ourselves until they can get their own place."

"Speaking of nights to ourselves," Elijah replied, standing up and putting Selina over his shoulder after she finished her wine. "We're wasting this one, aren't we? Where would you like to go? Would you like to start in the Jacuzzi tub or just head straight to bed?"

"Bed," Selina decided. "Is that all right with you?"

"Yes," Elijah agreed and spanked her a couple of times so she let out a cry. "Let's go."


	25. A Celebration Gone Wrong

"I'm really nervous about this," Amelia said as Selina brought her and Andrew to Astrid. "Are you sure she's actually gonna help us get work instead of tricking us into going back to how we were?"

"Trust me, if she'd wanted you to go back to how you were, she would have done it by now," Selina replied. When they reached Astrid's secretary, Selina said, "I'm here with the two people that those young warlocks brought back from the dead. Can I ask you to make us an appointment with Astrid about getting them paperwork so they can have jobs?"

"S-sure," the secretary replied, staring openly at Andrew and Amelia. "Were the two of you _really_ brought back from the dead?" She asked. "What was that like?"

"It was very humiliating," Amelia replied, shaking out her blond hair and giving a shudder. "If you die, I don't recommend it."

"Oh, come on, Amelia," Andrew said, putting his arm around her. "It wasn't so bad."

"Yes, it was," Amelia nodded.

"The appointment?" Selina asked the woman, her voice curt. "Please?"

"All right, all right, sorry," The secretary replied and did some typing on her computer. "I assume you want the appointment to be as soon as possible?"

"Yes," Selina nodded. "That would be good."

"All right," The secretary nodded. "What about the day after tomorrow? Astrid's got an hour free around lunch time."

"That would be perfect," Selina nodded. "Thank you so much for your help."

"You're welcome," The woman smiled. "You have a good day now."

"Thank you," Andrew smiled back in a way that made the woman laugh awkwardly in a way that showed she was succumbing to his charms.

"Okay, okay," Amelia yanked Andrew away by his arm while Selina tried not to laugh. "Come on. We're going home now."

* * *

A couple of days later, they came for their meeting, and as Selina had suspected, after Astrid had looked over Amelia's credentials (which Amelia had managed to locate the previous day), she immediately hired her to be the substitute English teacher.

"It's so good you came, right in the nick of time," she said. "The woman you're subbing for could go into labor any day now and I was nearly at my wits' end trying to find someone to take her place before it was too late."

"Well, I'm glad to be able to help," Amelia replied.

"As for you," Astrid continued, looking at Andrew. "You're a lawyer, you say?"

"Yes," Andrew nodded. "And quite a successful one at that, if I do say so myself. There were several articles written about cases I successfully defended in my day, but I guess you don't have a way to read them."

" _She_ might not, but I think I have a way," Amelia replied. "Selina, can I borrow your car to drive over to your father's house real quick?"

"Sure," Selina nodded. "Knock yourself out." She handed Amelia her keys and then Amelia left, returning a short time later with a box of yellowed newspaper clippings. "Read those," she told Astrid. "There's his resume right there."

"Wait a minute," Andrew said in amazement. "You saved every article about my legal career?"

"Well, you were up north for a lot of it, weren't you?" Amelia asked. "How _else_ was I supposed to know what you were up to?"

"That's very true," Andrew agreed. He then watched as Astrid, after putting a spell on the papers so they wouldn't crumble, read about him successfully prosecuting against thieves, murderers, embezzlers, and other unsavory characters.

"If you did this much that was noteworthy, I shouldn't have much trouble finding a job for you," Astrid said once she'd finished the box of articles. "Plus, I think the knowledge that you came back from the dead won't scare people away from hiring you either. Just give me some time and I'll see what I can do for you, all right?"

"All right," Andrew nodded. "Thank you very much for all your help. I appreciate it."

"It's really not a problem," Astrid told him. "I bet we'll find a really good position for you, and we'll find it soon."

With that assurance, they left Astrid office with the box of articles in hand. Andrew sat next to Amelia in the backseat of Selina's car and said, "You know, I really can't wait to get back into a court room again."

"You're lucky they're just going to let you," Amelia told him. "Lawyers actually have to go to school to do what they do today and have a degree and stuff. They can't just read, be full of personality, and then set up shop like you."

"Well, it's good that I was born when I was, then," Andrew replied. "Cause I never really did like school all that much. It takes things that are interesting and just makes them as dull as dirt."

"You are _not_ kidding," Selina agreed.

"I thought school was _fascinating_ when I went to get my teaching degree," Amelia said. "But perhaps when you've been barred from any sort of real education at all, and then finally get a chance to learn, _everything_ is fascinating."

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "I bet."

* * *

"Hi, Matthew," Amelia said as she knocked on his classroom door halfway through her first day as he was leaving for lunch. "Are you busy?"

"What are _you_ doing here?" Matthew asked her as he got up from his desk, his eyes wide.

"I just…I came to tell you that I have a job here now too," Amelia told him. "But don't worry, it's only for a few months. Don't you think we can work together peacefully? I promise I won't be a bother to you."

"Oh, I'm really not worried about you," Matthew assured her. "Not anymore. How has your morning gone?"

Amelia shrugged. "It hasn't been much different than my past teaching jobs. I try to inspire my students, keep them interested. But besides the really dedicated ones, it never seems to work because I'm afraid I don't have much personality. Your brother's a lawyer. He had to charm juries and get them to see things his way. Maybe he could help me. Do you think he could?"

"I have no doubt," Matthew smiled. "And I think it's a really good idea."

"Wonderful," Amelia replied. "You wanna come to lunch with me?"

"Sure," Matthew nodded. "That's where I was just about to go myself. I have a few people I sit with usually. Wanna join us?"

"Yes, please," Amelia told him. "I would love to. You're so kind." She took his arm then and they headed to lunch, seeming like good friends and as if there had never been any difficulties between them at all.

* * *

"Sarah?" Christine asked Selina as they sat on the sofa thinking of baby names, since she and Matthew were gonna find out the sex of the baby the next day. "What do you think of the name Sarah?"

"Well, I think it's a pretty name," Selina replied. "I mean, it sort of has negative connotations for me because when I was at my lowest point and partying in Europe, I went by the name Seraphine Gardner and everyone called me Sera for short. What's the middle name gonna be if it's a girl?"

"The middle name is what I've always known," Christine told her and took her hand. "'Selina' will be her middle name, just so you don't think your father has forgotten you. But finding a name that fits well with 'Selina' is kind of difficult, if I'm gonna be honest."

"Sarah Selina is not bad," Selina said with approval. "Not bad at all. I like it."

"Yeah," Christine smiled. "Me too." She paused. "You know…I'm very grateful that you and I get along now. With my mom not really in the picture, you're the one person I can ask for help. It's nice."

"It's no problem," Selina told her. "Really. You know what sort of mother I grew up with, so I totally know what it feels like to have troubles with your own mother and need to have someone else guide you along instead."

"Yeah," Christine nodded, thinking about Amelia. "I bet you do."

"So…when did you say you find out if it's a boy or a girl?" Selina asked. "Soon?"

"Yeah," Christine told her. "In a few days. Your father still doesn't believe that we can figure out a thing like that now, so it'll be a real surprise for him. I think he'll like it."

"Yeah, I think he will too," Selina agreed. "Has he…said anything about what kind of baby he wants?"

"He said he'd be happy for either as long as we both get out of it okay, but when I really pressed him, he said he wants another girl," Christine told her. "It seems he _really_ wants to make up for what happened to his relationship with you and not repeat the same mistakes."

"Well, if you end up having a little girl, she's gonna be real lucky to have two such wonderful parents," Selina said.

"And a wonderful big sister," Christine added and gave Selina a hug.

* * *

"So," Andrew said to Amelia as she came into the house after getting back from school. "How was your first day teaching? Good?"

"In the sense that I helped people learn things, sure," Amelia nodded and came to sit next to him. "But…would you help me be more entertaining when I do it? I want to have that ability that you do where you walk into a room and you just grab people's attention by being there. Can you teach me that?"

"Sure," Andrew nodded. "I'll do the best I can. But first, I think we need to celebrate your job. Can I get you a drink?"

"All right," Amelia nodded. "I think a glass or two wouldn't hurt."

But they downed more than just a glass or two. They got a whole bottle done, and a little more from another bottle after that. Then they took Selina's keys and drove to a golf course at a country club where a party was being held to get money for some cause or another. A bunch of wealthy people were there, but not one of them noticed Amelia park the car and lead Andrew behind the bushes near one of the water hazards at the golf course where she undressed and then boosted herself in the water, daring Andrew to follow her. It didn't take him long to follow her command and soon they were splashing each other, swimming around, and making out.

However, it wasn't long before the group finally found them out and someone called the police. Both Amelia and Andrew struggled and resisted until, covered with towels, they were read their rights, cuffed, and then tossed into the back of a cop car before being driven down to the station and charged with public drunkenness, indecency, and resisting arrest.

When Amelia took her one phone call, she called her daughter, who had just begun a night of passion with Elijah.

"Oh, for heaven's sake!" Selina cried as she strode into the police station several minutes later. "I can't take my eyes off of you for one minute, can I?"

"Would you relax?" Amelia asked her. "We were just trying to have a little fun. I don't know what you have to be all up in our business for!"

"Because you let yourself get arrested!" Selina replied. "Don't you realize how bad that is? You would scold me so much if _I_ did this!"

"Okay, but this is different," Amelia shot back. "I need this! This is the first time I've had fun in _years!"_

"You say that now," Selina told her as she and Andrew were let out of the cell and he begged her not to say anything to Matthew cause he knew that would get him a lecture. "But Mama, I have a feeling when you realize what you did tonight, you're really gonna hate yourself tomorrow. Stuff like this gets in the papers, you know."

"I doubt it," Amelia told her. "I don't think you know what you're talking about."

Selina compelled the officer to let Amelia and Andrew off the hook cause she knew that just the mere knowledge of what she'd done would send Amelia back into her shell, and going to court would keep her there forever and then she drove them home, suggesting very strongly that they spend the night doing quiet activities or sleeping and not going out again."

"All right,"Amelia told her. "Geez, you get arrested _one time_ and suddenly everyone's watching you like a hawk."

"Welcome to my childhood," Selina told her. "Short of being arrested, I mean. You two have a good night now." Then she headed back to Elijah and tried not to think about what had just happened, and how it seemed she'd entered a crazy parallel universe where _she_ was the responsible one, and her mother was not.

"Where'd you go?" Elijah asked her. "Is everything okay?"

"No," Selina shook her head as he took her in his arms. "I had to pull my mother and uncle out of jail cause they were drinking and ruined a party full of rich people and compel the cops not to take them to court. I never thought I'd say this, but I sort of miss my insecure, bossy mother. I _hate_ being the one who has to be serious and responsible!"

"Well, I'm sure that when your mother has sobered tomorrow, she'll be back to normal." Elijah assured her.

"Yes, that's what I told her," Selina agreed and kissed him. "And I hope with all my heart that I'm right."


	26. A Bad Morning After

"I hate my life," Amelia said as she came downstairs the morning after her and Andrew's debacle. "Everything hurts, the lights are too bright, and I don't feel good."

"I'm sorry," Selina told her. "What can I get you to make you feel better?"

Amelia took her hand off her head and looked at her daughter in amazement. "That's it? You're not gonna give me a lecture about how I shouldn't do what I did last night?"

"I scolded you when I got you out of jail," Selina replied and got her mother some coffee. "Plus, I didn't like it when you lectured me, so I won't do it for you. That and the fact that it would make me a giant hypocrite."

"Thank you," Amelia said, taking her coffee as Selina went to close the curtains and dim the light in the room.

"You didn't have to come all the way downstairs if you weren't feeling well," she said. "I could have brought something up to you."

"I know you could have, but I just couldn't stand being around your uncle. _I'm_ the one who used alcohol like a crutch, but _he's_ the one with the higher tolerance. Go figure, right? He'd showered and dressed before I even found the strength to get out of bed. That just makes me so mad!"

"I'm sorry, Mama," Selina told her. "I just don't know what to tell you."

"That's okay," Amelia replied. She took a couple sips of coffee, set her cup down, and lay her head down on the table as Andrew skipped down the stairs, whistling cheerfully. He came up behind Amelia and said, "Good morning, sunshine," before kissing her hair.

Amelia brought her head up and quietly growled at him. "I don't want to talk to you," she said. "Go away. If you don't, I'll kill you."

"Awww," Andrew smiled, looking very unperturbed. "You're so cute when you do that."

"No, I mean it!" Amelia cried. "Do you really have to flaunt your high tolerance for alcohol around those of us that aren't so lucky?"

"I'm sorry," Andrew apologized and sat down. "But really, it's not something you can scold me for. It's not my fault I have a higher alcohol tolerance than you." He looked at Selina. "Dearest, do you have a paper?"

"What do you need a paper for?" Amelia asked. "None of the news in it is going to matter to you."

"Possibly not, but it's one way to acclimate myself to the modern world," Andrew told her.

Selina then plunked the paper down in front of him and asked if he wanted coffee.

"All right," Andrew replied and got up. "But you don't need to get it for me. I can get it myself."

He did and while he was doing that, Selina leafed through the paper herself, her eyes widening at one point.

"What?" Amelia asked. "What's happened?"

"Nothing," Selina said quickly, pulling a bit of the paper out, crumpling it up, and throwing it in the trash. "Nothing at all."

Amelia went over to the trash then and pulled the bit of paper out. Even though it was crumpled, she could still make out the article headline.

"Oh, my god," she said, her knees going weak. "Oh, my god." She fainted then, and Andrew caught her just in time before her head hit the floor. He sat her down in a chair as she came back to consciousness, repeatedly muttering, "No, no, no," while blushing bright red.

"What did you see?" Andrew asked her.

"It's an article about your debacle last night, including some stuff about how the two of you were arrested," Selina informed him.

"Well, damn," Andrew said and sat down next to Amelia.

"You're a lawyer!" Amelia yelled at him. "You're not supposed to lead me into doing things that are illegal!"

Andrew opened his mouth to protest this, but then decided that she was not in the best state of mind to be reminded that it had in fact been _her_ idea to go and skinny-dip and all that he'd proposed was that they have a drink to celebrate her new job. "I'm sorry," he said. "I'll try and do better in the future."

"Yes, well, I just hope you do!" Amelia snapped. "It seems I can't have any sort of good times at all without something going horribly wrong. First you die right after we begin our sexual relationship, then I'm left with a lot to handle by myself, and now I'm all over the news for being a debauched fool!" She shut her eyes tight. "I'm going back to bed. I can't deal with this now."

"You want me to bring you up some breakfast?" Selina asked. "And at least finish your coffee."

"No thanks," Amelia shook her head. "I'm really not hungry anymore."

Once she was gone, Andrew sighed. "What a shame this had to happen. We were getting along so well."

"Oh, I'm sure she won't be like this forever," Selina told him. "Just give her some time and then it'll get better."

"I hope so," Andrew nodded. "Cause really, I'm not _trying_ to humiliate her. I want your mother to have fun and things like that, but…it seems like everything just conspires against me."

"You just haven't found the right thing to do yet," Selina told him and put a hand on his shoulder. "You will, though. I just know it."

* * *

"I know I've already asked you this a million times, but are we _really_ going to be able to see what sort of child we're having at this doctor's appointment?" Matthew asked Christine. "How is that even possible?"

"Modern technology," Christine replied. "How is it that you can believe in ebay and the internet, but when you're told that there are machines that can show you your baby, you just can't believe it?"

"Because the first time I was an expectant father, that wasn't possible," Matthew told her. "It's just so impressive how far technology has come."

"That's a good point," Christine said. "I guess I never thought of it that way."

They arrived at the hospital and when it was the technician's turn to see them, Matthew blurted out, "We want to see what kind of baby we're having. You can do that, right?"

"Is this his first one?" The woman asked Christine knowingly. "They're always nervous when it's their first one."

Christine just decided to fib a little. "Yes," she said. "It's been quite a process for both of us." She got on the counter then and the jelly was put on her stomach, so that when the scanner ran over it, the pictures of the baby were visible on the screen. Matthew was very engrossed in the image, but not so much that he forgot to ask, "What you're doing…it's not hurting Christine or the child, is it?"

"No," the technician said patiently. "It's perfectly safe, I promise. And it looks like you're having a little girl."

"I am?" Matthew asked. "I mean, we are? How can you tell?"

"Cause if you look at the picture, there's no sign of the baby having man parts and they would by now if they were a boy," Christine replied.

Matthew got a little closer and stared at the picture. "You know, I see a shape, and if that's supposed to be the child, I'm very impressed. And I'll believe whatever else you say because I have no reason not to."

"Good," Christine nodded. "You should believe us. Cause we're not wrong."

She sat up after a few more minutes. "How are you feeling?" She asked him.

"Stunned more than anything else," Matthew replied. "And very happy, of course." He kissed her and helped her off the table, taking her in his arms. "I'm glad we're having a girl. Can I tell my brother? Or do you want me to wait a bit?"

"No, you can tell him," Christine replied. "I know that you already told him we were coming here today, so there's no sense in making him wait for the results."

They thanked the technician and headed home, where Christine headed to bed, and then Matthew called his brother to tell him to visit so he could give him news about the result of the appointment, and maybe say a thing or two about what he'd seen about Andrew and Amelia in the paper.

* * *

"So…do I have a niece or a nephew?" Andrew asked when he came through the door of his brother's house. "You had that appointment today, right? "

"Actually, there was a thing in the paper which I feel we should talk about first-" Matthew began, but Andrew cut him off. "Never mind about that," he said. "It was a drunken mistake and I promise never to do it again, all right?"

Matthew sighed. "You always say that and then you go and do it again. And this time you dragged Amelia into it too. Where's your head?"

"Hey, she was just as involved as I was!" Andrew defended himself. "And I'm already dealing with Amelia being mad at me, so it would be nice to be able to talk about something else. Now, are you going to tell me what kind of child you're having or not?"

"You don't even seem amazed that such a thing can happen," Matthew replied.

"Selina explained it to me," Andrew replied. "But technology _is_ impressive."

"It's a little girl," Matthew said at last. "I've fathered another daughter." Then he paused. "Well, I didn't cause I'm technically dead, but…I'm gonna be the father of another daughter. That's a more accurate description of what's happening."

Andrew smiled. "Well, I'm very happy for you," he told his brother. "And now that Amelia and I are alive again, maybe we'll have that same chance too."

"I hope you do," Matthew said. "Because it really is a very wonderful experience. And I know that you helped Amelia look after Selina for some time in my absence, so even though you can be a bit of a rascal sometimes, I know you can be a good father also."

"Thank you," Andrew told him. "Now all I need to do is get Amelia to talk to me again and I'll be well on my way to that goal, won't I?"

"Good luck," Matthew told him. "You need it to get on Amelia's good side after she was humiliated so publicly."

"Thank you," Andrew nodded. "I really do, don't I? Do you have any ideas?"

"Sorry," Matthew shook his head. "You've already spent more time with her than I ever did. If anyone's gonna solve this situation, it's you, not me."


	27. Puttin' On The Ritz

"Thank you so much for inviting me over," Selina told Amy. "You have no idea how badly I needed to get away from home."

"Really?" Amy asked. "Would you like to share? Are you and Elijah having problems?"

"No, not me and Elijah," Selina shook her head. "You're a witch. You read witch news, right?"

"Yeah," Amy nodded.

"Well, have you read a story about two dead people who were resurrected?"

"Yes, I did," Amy nodded. "It's remarkable that kids so young could pull that off so successfully."

"I bet," Selina replied. "But the thing is…the people they brought back are my mother and my uncle, and since they have nowhere to live at the moment, they're living with me and Elijah now, and at times, it can get a bit stressful, especially since my mom just got arrested and when she gets embarrassed, she tends to become…shrewish."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Amy told her. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"You did when you invited me over," Selina said. "Thanks for that."

"You're welcome," Amy replied. "So…the people that the boys brought back are your mother and your uncle?"

"Yes," Selina nodded. "If the boys were just picking two random people to bring back to life, it's a really weird coincidence. And they were in love with each other once, you know? When I was a little girl, I really hoped they would get married. They got real close to it, then my uncle got shot and all hopes of that were dashed."

"That's nice," Amy smiled. "I guess those boys did you a favor then. In a way."

"Yeah, I suppose," Selina replied. "And Mama's subbing for the Lit teacher at school who just went on maternity leave. I think it's good for her to have something to do with herself. And she and my dad are getting along well enough."

"Good, good," Amy nodded.

Selina gave her a look. "But enough about me. You're very patient to listen, so it's about time I returned the favor. Tell me about your life. How's the hunting going?"

"I haven't gone lately," Amy admitted. "Klaus has been out of sorts about Victoria and her husband Kai, and I thought it would be best to let him hunt alone and do what he needs to do instead of having to look after me also. Do you think that's wrong?"

"Just a minute, I'll ask," Selina replied as Klaus strode into the kitchen. "Hey," she said to him. "What the hell's the matter with you? Do you want Amy to come hunting with you, or would you rather keep going alone?"

"No, she can come with me," He looked at Amy in surprise. "Why the hell haven't you? I've been meaning to ask."

"Cause you've been fussing about Kai ever since he showed up and I wanted to give you your space," Amy replied. "But obviously, my worries were misplaced."

"Yeah, they were," Klaus nodded. "You won't learn a thing eating from blood bags. Why don't we go hunting now?" He looked at Selina. "You don't mind if I take Amy away now, do you, love?"

"Oh, sure, go ahead," Selina replied. "You two have fun. I can find other things to do with myself."

* * *

"Can we talk about what happened?" Andrew asked Amelia. "Or is it too soon?"

"I'd rather not talk about what happened at all," Amelia replied. "It happened, it got in the news, let's move on and never mention it again."

"All right," Andrew nodded. "Okay. What _would_ you like to talk about?"

"I-I suppose I should apologize for how harshly I treated you when I was angry," Amelia told him. I was embarrassed and horrified and I took it all out on you when what happened was really my fault."

"Well, thank you," Andrew told her. "Thank you very much for admitting that."

Amelia hugged him then and said, "You know, I really _do_ want to be a fun person," she said. "I want to do the kinds of fun, harmless things my mother would have punished me for doing when I was a child and not feel a bit of regret afterward." She looked up at him. "You think I can do it?"

"Of course you can do it!" Andrew smiled. "But…I think we should start slow, don't you? No more drinking a lot and then skinny dipping in public. Now, in private is something else entirely. How do you feel about skinny-dipping in private?"

"Well, I suppose that as long as there was no possibility of us being discovered…I would be up for it," Amelia smiled.

"That's exactly what I wanted to hear," Andrew smiled and kissed her.

That night, Amelia woke up with a start and screamed loudly when she saw a shape looming over her in the dark. A hand was quickly put over her mouth and Andrew whispered, "My god, Amelia! Do you want to wake everyone up so they know what we're up to?"

"I don't know!" Amelia whispered back angrily. "What _are_ we up to?"

"You said you would skinny-dip with me in private," Andrew replied and grinned widely. "Now's as good a time as any, don't you think?"

"Why now?" Amelia asked. "And you really shouldn't just _loom_ over people in the dark like that! You damn near gave me a heart attack!"

"All right, I'm sorry," Andrew apologized. "But yes, I think doing this now is very important. If we just set a date, you would worry and fret and try to get out of it. Don't you protest," he said when Amelia opened her mouth to do just that. "You and I both know that you would. So if you're really sure about doing this, let's just get it out of the way now. Unless you're chicken, that is." He waggled his eyebrows.

"Oh, I am _not!"_ Amelia replied, hopping out of bed, shoving Andrew aside, and running out of the bedroom in her pajamas.

Andrew chuckled and shook his head. "I knew that would get her. I know her so well." Then he counted under his breath, "three, two, one." At one, Amelia poked her head in the bedroom door again. "What kept you?" He asked brightly.

"I need to know where the pool is," she grabbed his hand and pulled him after her. "Come and show me if you wanna do this so bad."

Finally, they got outside and stood at the edge of the pool, both staring down into the clear water. "Here's your test, Amelia," Andrew whispered in her ear. "Are you gonna do this or not?"

"Of course I am!" Amelia replied. Then, to his surprise, she pushed him into the water with a loud splash and waited for him to resurface before she began stripping down with a cheeky grin on her face before jumping into the pool after him and helping him remove his wet pants and throwing them in the pile along with her clothes. Then, he took her in his arms and kissed her.

"See?" She told him. "I'm _not_ a chicken!"

"I never thought you were," Andrew replied and splashed her. Then she splashed him, and they went on like this for a while before doing a couple laps in the pool and then sneaking back inside with their clothes clutched to their chests, giggling to themselves as they shut Andrew's bedroom door behind them.

"Wait a minute," he said to her. "You want to stay in here with me?"

"Sure," Amelia nodded. "My room's further away, and I don't feel like walking there to sleep when you've got a perfectly comfy bed right here." She climbed on the mattress and gave him a come hither look. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"No," Andrew shook his head. "I just wanted to make sure _you_ didn't." He then climbed in bed beside her and kissed her deeply, his fingers running through her hair as he lay her down on the mattress and her hands went over his naked, damp body.

* * *

Although Amelia's attitude had improved, Andrew was relieved when he finally got a call from Astrid to say that she'd found a law firm that agreed to hire him after she went and bragged about his exploits. He really felt he needed to do something useful with himself and was glad to have the chance to do it.

"Well, thank you," he told her. "I appreciate all the effort you put forth on my behalf."

"It's no problem," Astrid told him. "After all you've been through, it's the least I can do. They want you to start tomorrow. And as I assume you can't drive, I'll come and pick you up for your first day."

"Thank you," Andrew told her. "I can't wait." After he got the call, he went to talk to Elijah. "You seem to be a nice dresser," he said. "I finally got the call from Astrid that they found a job for me, and I think that i need some new suits so that I look presentable. Could you help me with that?"

"Of course," Elijah told him. "It would be my pleasure. And actually we don't need to do much work to get you fixed up. When you were first wearing my clothes, how did they feel on you?"

"Just a bit snug," Andrew replied. "I'm a little bulkier than you are."

"I think you're right," Elijah nodded. He grabbed a couple of his suits that he didn't wear as much and brought them to Selina. "Do you think you can fix these up for your uncle so that he looks good when he goes to work?" He asked her. "How good are you at hemming things?"

Selina smiled. "If I can hem the pants of the servant and slave boys to wear them for my own use, I think I can handle a couple of suits," she assured him. "I just have to find where I put my measuring tape and we'll get to work."

"You can sew?" Andrew asked her in surprise. "I remember your mother muttering constantly when you were a child about how much you struggled with it."

"I only struggle with those stupid samplers that she wanted me to do so she could prove to everyone that I was a lady," Selina corrected. "If it was practical sewing, like mending, hemming, or sewing on buttons, I was really good at that."

She found her measuring tape, got Andrew measured, and then said, "You have a couple of days before you start work, right? I'm gonna need that time."

"Of course," Andrew nodded. "And thank you so much for your help, both of you."

"You're welcome," Elijah replied. "And may I say that I'm surprised by how well you do dress?"

Andrew chuckled. "I may be something of a rascal and a ne'er-do-well according to my father, but that doesn't mean I can't look snappy while I do it."

"Point taken," Elijah nodded. "Point taken."

* * *

A few days later, he was up bright and early, showered and dressed before Amelia woke up. He left a note for her, and then grabbed a briefcase Selina had bought for him before running out of the house and getting into Astrid's car.

"Good morning," he greeted her.

"Good morning," Astrid replied. "Would you like to know a little bit about where you'll be working?"

"Yes," Andrew nodded. "I won't have a strict boss, will I?"

"She has high standards, but with all your experience, I think you could handle her," Astrid assured him.

"Wait a minute," Andrew said. "My boss is a _woman_?"

"You don't have a problem with that, do you?" Astrid asked.

"Not really," Andrew replied, looking amazed. "I just…I think it's good that they're finally letting women practice law now. Are they doctors too?"

"Yes," Amelia nodded. "They're lots of things."

"Good to know," Andrew replied. "I'll be sure and be on my best behavior."

"Don't worry too much," Astrid told him. "You'll be all right."

They got to the office and as they got through the door, a woman with long brunette hair, sparkly dark eyes, and a bright smile approached them and held out her hand. "You must be Andrew," she said as he took it. "I'm Danielle. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," Andrew told her. "I-I hope I can do some good for you here after you were kind enough to give me a chance."

"Oh, you weren't a pity hire," Danielle replied. "You know what you're doing. That doesn't change, even if your last job was years ago, right?"

"I shouldn't think it would, no," Andrew shook his head. "Where do I start?"

"Well, since I knew you were coming today, I cancelled all my meetings and my secretary and I are going to help you get up to date on legal stuff," she told him. "Is that all right with you?"

"Yes, thank you," Andrew said as led him to what she said was his office. "That's very kind."

There, her secretary was waiting and, as she said, they spent the day after he had clocked in helping update him on how the legal process had changed since he was last a lawyer.

"Of course it's gonna take more than one day to get you updated, but I think you have a good start," she told him at the end of the day. "We'll do more when you come tomorrow."

"All right," Andrew nodded. "I look forward to it."

As Astrid drove him home, she asked, "How was your first day? Do you and Danielle get along?"

"Yes, she's very nice," Andrew nodded. "But I think…I think that because Amelia tends to get jealous, I might tell her that my boss is a man. At least for now, anyway."


	28. A Little More Love

As it got closer and closer to Christine's due date, the more nervous Matthew got. "Would you come with me when Christine goes into labor?" He begged his brother. "Please? Can they spare you at work if it happens on a work day? I know it's selfish of me to ask such a thing of you, but…"

"Don't worry about it," Andrew assured him, holding his hand tight. "I'm on very good terms with my boss. I'm sure she'll understand if I ask nicely."

"All right," Matthew let out his breath. "Good. Christine wants Selina to come too, but I feel uncomfortable having her being the only one there."

"It'll be all right," Andrew assured him. "I don't see there being any need to worry."

"You lost a wife and _three_ children in childbirth!" Matthew said in amazement. "How can you be so calm about this?"

"Because it really doesn't do anyone any good to worry, does it?" Andrew asked with a shrug.

"No, I suppose not," Matthew shook his head. "But I can't help it, you know? I'm a worrier. Even though I'm sure that it's driving Christine out of her mind."

"I'm sure that she's used to it by now," Andrew assured him. "And that she doesn't mind at all." But when he'd finally convinced Matthew to take the dogs for a walk, or get on his horse, or _something_ that would ease his mind, he then went to see his sister-in-law, who was hiding in her and Matthew's bedroom, pretending to nap.

"Is your brother gone?" She asked, sitting up. "Did you convince him to find some other way to occupy himself? I love the man, but really, he could win a blue ribbon in a worrying competition, couldn't he?"

Andrew sighed. "Yes, I know it's a bit much. But remember, when he first became a father, the reality was that losing both wife and child was a very real possibility. I think that once you get through this pregnancy and you show him that neither you nor the baby will die, he'll feel much better about the next one."

"I hope so," Christine nodded. Then she said, "So is he gone? I need to go outside and get some fresh air."

"All right," Andrew told her. "It's a lovely day."

"Really?" Christine asked. "You're just gonna let me go like that? No warnings or anything?"

"No," Andrew shook his head. "You seem all right, so why in the world would it be my place to tell you how to be?"

"Wow," Christine blinked. "No wonder Selina likes you. You're _awesome_."

"Thank you," Andrew smiled. "I really do try, you know."

They went out on the deck and played cards until Matthew returned with the dogs. Christine stood up as he approached, preparing to fight him when he ordered her to go back inside, but instead, he just smiled and said, "You seem well-rested. Glad to see you up and about."

"Yeah," she said and put her cards down. "I'm glad for that too, although it's getting harder and harder to move every day. I'll be really glad when Sarah decides she wants to be born."

"Yes, me too," Matthew replied and kissed her hair. "Not as much as you, I bet. But I will be."

* * *

"You haven't told me much about your work," Amelia said to Andrew. "There _has_ to be more to it than you just going and reading up on modern legal procedures. What is your boss like? Do you like your co-workers? Tell me everything! I really wanna know!"

"My boss?" Andrew asked carefully. "He's nice. Just a really helpful fellow. I'm glad I have him to help me navigate things since it's all so new to me and sometimes I really have no idea what the hell I'm doing."

"How wonderful is _that_?" Amelia smiled. "I'm doing well at school too. I see one of my many grandchildren quite frequently. Her husband teaches at the school too, and sometimes Matthew and I have lunch with them."

"My goodness!" Andrew exclaimed. "Is everyone at that school related to you somehow?"

"Not everyone," Amelia said. "But a lot of people, yes, one way or another. But enough about me. I think we should really get to know your co-workers. Maybe once we get our own house, we could invite them over for dinner! Are there many of them?"

"Not so much," Andrew shook his head. "But I really don't think that's necessary."

"Of course it is!" Amelia exclaimed. "Don't you want them to know you're a gracious and considerate person? One of my jobs is to do that for you."

"Why?" Andrew asked, feeling panic rise up. "I mean, it's very kind of you, but…you're not my wife. We don't have to do this. And besides, we don't have our own house yet. It might take ages until we do!"

"Well, in that case," Amelia smiled. "Let's get married! And I'm sure that Selina and Elijah would let us have a dinner party here if we explained what it was for. Elijah would probably bubble up with joy at the prospect of getting to dress you up in formal wear."

Andrew paused. "I would be _more_ than happy to marry you," he said carefully. "After what happened last time, doing that as soon as possible is a really good idea."

"Well, what are we waiting for, then?" Amelia asked. "Let's go!"

* * *

"You seem to be taking this much better than your father's marriage to Christine," Elijah remarked to Selina as they arrived at the courthouse to see Andrew and Amelia marry. "I thought I was going to have to talk you through this marriage too, or at least prepare for more protest."

"For Uncle Andrew and my mother?" Selina shook her head. "No, no, no! I've been waiting for them to get married for _years!_ Since I was a little human girl, actually. So them doing it now is like a dream come true for me."

"And I'm _really_ surprised that your father agreed to come," Elijah continued. "Wouldn't that be awkward?"

"No," Selina shook her head. "He and Mama seem to have made peace with their past relationship, plus I think he and Mama only married to make my grandparents happy anyway, and he's _much_ happier to support my uncle. Kind of like how Klaus came to our wedding the first time I married you." She paused as Elijah's face changed. "I shouldn't have mentioned that," she said quickly. "I'm sorry."

"It's all right," Elijah told her as Matthew came out and told them the judge was ready to marry Andrew and Amelia.

"All right, we're coming," Selina told him. "And are you all right, Daddy? You're not worrying about Christine, are you?"

"No," Matthew said, although it wasn't quite convincing. "She promised me she'd have her cell phone by her to call the ambulance if she went into labor while I was here."

"Good," Selina nodded. "And it's good for you to get out too, you know? See people, get a change of scenery."

"Yes," Matthew nodded. "I just have to keep reminding myself of that."

They then went to join Andrew and Amelia, who were bright-eyed and eager. They stuck with traditional vows and even kept the 'Til death do us part' clause in there.

"Death didn't part us before," Andrew said after. "And it sure as hell is gonna be the end result now."

"Yeah," Amelia nodded. "No kidding. I didn't go through all those years without you just to throw you away the second after I got you."

"That's so touching," Andrew smiled, taking her in his arms and giving her a kiss.

"So, are you two gonna do a honeymoon?" Selina asked.

"Perhaps," Amelia nodded. "But first, we have to throw a dinner party so that I can meet Andrew's co-workers. Can we throw it at your house?"

"Sure," Selina agreed. "Go ahead."

Amelia skipped away to plan while Andrew looked exasperatedly at his niece.

"What?" Selina asked. "Did I say something wrong? What's the matter with wanting Mama to meet your co-workers?"

"Well," Andrew whispered confidentially, "My boss is a woman, and I…I worry how your mother will react to that, especially since I might have told her that my boss was a man." He paused. "Although, now that we're married and her territory is marked, so to speak, she might take the news easier. Who knows?"

"I would tell her before the party just in case, though," Selina told him. "And do you want me to be there for damage control?"

"Thank you, but no," Andrew shook his head. "I'm a grown man who should be able to face his own wife even when she's gone crazy." He then turned his attention to Matthew. "You've done it before, right? Gotten through Amelia's darker moments and come out alive? Teach me your wisdom, please."

"It's really not that hard," Matthew told him. "Just stay calm. I know the two of you are very passionate with each other so if she yells, you'll naturally want to yell back, but really, that just makes it worse. Just stay calm and let her yell, and when she realizes that her anger isn't being fed, she'll calm down."

"And this _works_?" Andrew asked. "Are you sure?"

"It always worked for me, so it could be a good start for you," Matthew told him. "Good luck."

* * *

"I'm _so_ looking forward to meeting your boss," Amelia smiled at Andrew. "You said he was a nice man, right?"

"Yes, that's what I said," Andrew nodded. "But about that…actually, my boss is _not_ a man at all. I lied to you and I'm sorry?"

"Oh?" Amelia asked, tensing a little as her blue eyes narrowed. "is that so?"

"My boss is a woman," Andrew got out. "I lied because I didn't want you to get angry. But I'm telling you the truth now. Are you mad? You really have no reason to be."

"Well, that depends," Amelia told him. "Does this woman have designs on you? Did she give you work so easily not only because of your tremendous skill at lawyering, but also because she saw a handsome man and thought, 'I think I want a piece of that'?"

"No, of course not!" Andrew shook his head. "Our relationship is professional only. I'm surprised you think otherwise and very hurt also." He paused. "Unless this is just a natural side effect of your werewolf nature and it's something you can't help. Then I'll forgive you." He took her in his arms. "Cause really, after all the time I've waited to be with you, do you really think I'd risk the relationship by being with a woman I hardly know?"

"No," Amelia sighed. "I suppose not. I'm…I'm sorry if I offended you. But it's just...we finally got in a good place and the thought of that being ruined by some lady lawyer is just…it really frightens me. Cause she's probably sophisticated and self-assured and I'm just some insecure woman who ruins people's lives with her need to control everything. I mean, look at how well my daughter turned out. It certainly wasn't because of me." She looked up at Andrew. "It was because of you and Charlotte and everyone else who took care of her when I was too consumed with myself to do so."

"You were aware of your limitations when it came to raising your daughter and you made sure that she was with people who could do better. Now, I admit that your marrying Roger Pierce was not one of your better choices, and I know your family protested, but I've always been a bit sore at them for that," Andrew told her. "How could they tell you that your only purpose in life was to marry, and then be upset when you chose not to live your life as a widow and instead be with the first available man you saw instead? A bit hypocritical if you ask me."

"I guess you're right," Amelia nodded. "It wasn't all me, was it?"

"No," Andrew shook his head and kissed her hair. "No, it wasn't all you."

Just then, the doorbell rang and both Amelia and Andrew went to answer it. Amelia opened the door and found herself face to face with Andrew's boss who held a bottle of wine in one hand.

"Hi," she said, smiling and reaching out for Amelia's hand with her free one. "I'm Danielle Holmes. You must be Andrew's wife, Amelia. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Amelia took her hand and studied her for a few seconds. She seemed honest and genuine and the fact that she'd addressed her as Andrew's wife gave her a lot of points. At least at this point, Amelia liked her enough to let her into the house without complaint. "Please come in," she smiled. "And thank you so much for the wine. That's very sweet of you."

"Oh, it's no problem, really," Danielle told her. "My mother was big on bringing hostess gifts. The other people from the office should be coming later, but I thought I'd get here a little early and introduce myself."

"It was a good idea you had," Amelia replied as Andrew relaxed a bit. "Let me show you where you're sitting at the table. Although now, having met you, I might move things around a bit."

"Whatever you want," Danielle said easily. "And if there's anything I can do to help you with dinner, don't hesitate to ask."

Eventually, everyone else from the office arrived and dinner began. Although Amelia had the closest seat to Andrew, she'd moved Danielle to the seat next to her. Whether that was a gesture of friendship, or suspicion, Andrew wasn't sure, but Amelia seemed to be on her best behavior.

When everyone was gone, he told her, "That really went well. Thank you. But just a question: was it because that's how a hostess acts, or because you really like Danielle?"

"At this point, the jury is still out about whether or not we'll be _really_ good friends," Amelia told him. "But I don't hate her the same way I did before she arrived."

"Did the fact that she acknowledged you as my wife right away help?" Andrew asked.

"Yes," Amelia nodded. "Of course it did. Would you help me put away the leftovers?"

"Of course," Andrew replied, feeling now as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "No problem at all."

* * *

"I really hope we aren't keeping you two from anything," Christine told Selina and Andrew apologetically as they sat in the backseat of Matthew's car. He'd taken to insisting they come every time he and Christine went out in case she went into labor. They wanted to be prepared.

"You know, it's fine," Selina replied. "Really. It isn't like I have anywhere else to be."

They were driving along when all of a sudden, a mother duck and her ducklings made their way across the street. Matthew put on the brakes so they could cross safely, with much grumbling and honking from the people behind them because of that decision. They weren't parked for very long, but it was just long enough for Christine to start going into labor, and it happened _fast._

"Okay, I'll take control of this," Selina declared as Andrew held his brother. "Don't worry. It'll be fine. Daddy, park on the side of the road and we'll get this taken care of."

Matthew was so stunned by how quickly it had all happened that he didn't even protest and did what she asked. He and Andrew sat together in the front seats holding on to one another and calling an ambulance while Selina helped Christine deliver in the back. Every time Christine screamed, Matthew tensed up and buried his head in his brother's shoulder, but thankfully that didn't happen too many times and soon Christine's cries were exchanged for Sarah's.

"Okay, it's all over," Selina said at last and Matthew finally sat up and peered over the seat at his new daughter, who lay in his older daughter's arms. "She's here. Not only did she make it through, your wife did also. You're two for two, Daddy!"

Matthew did manage to chuckle weakly at that remark and then try and breathe. Then the ambulance arrived and they all went to the hospital. After Christine was set up in her room, Matthew took Selina out into the hallway and talked with her. "Thank you for your help today," he said. "And throughout Christine's pregnancy. I know this hasn't been easy for you, and probably never will be, but…I couldn't have gotten through this without you. Or your uncle either."

"It's not a problem," Selina told him. "I'm glad to do what I can so that you get your second chance. And…and luckily for Sarah, she'll be able to know her whole life just what a great daddy she has." Despite trying not to tear up, this last sentence sent Selina over the edge. She began crying and clung to Matthew for a bit before accepting his offer of a handkerchief to blow her nose with and then striding away as fast as she could because she knew that if she stood in front of Matthew sobbing for too long, it would make him feel guilty again. And that's not how he should feel. Not today.


	29. Finally Telling Charlotte

"I'm _such_ a wuss!" Selina complained as she punched a punching bag in the basement. "My father has a daughter with the woman he loves and is happy for the first time in his life and I can't even handle it. I deliver the kid and then what happens? I cry and run away. I'm just…I'm ashamed. I've done this song and dance _so_ many times with Daddy, you think I'd be used to it now and have a better way to deal with it. Don't you think?" She turned to face her mother and her uncle who were watching her from the sofa with their arms around each other. "Besides, I was closer to the two of you anyway, so I don't see what my big problem is. I thought the two of you getting married would mean I wouldn't feel like everything Daddy does with Christine is a big slap in the face, but apparently not."

"Is there anyone you could talk to about this, maybe?" Amelia asked. "Is this something you want to get over?"

"Of course it is," Selina replied. "I'm a grown woman and I should _not_ break down in tears over a baby."

"Well, when you think of all the times in your life that you could've cried, but didn't, it's no wonder you're finally doing it now," Andrew said. "Maybe you can't talk your way out of this. Maybe you just have to let it run its course."

"And how long will that take?" Selina asked. "I don't want to feel like this forever. I can't stand it!"

"I don't know how long it will take," Andrew admitted. "But your mother and I are here for you if you need to talk. We're here to listen."

"Yeah, I know that might be hard to believe coming from me, but it really is true," Amelia promised her. "I'm finally in a frame of mind where I really _can_ think about you and I'm not just focused on myself."

"That's very sweet," Selina said, coming next to them and sitting next to Andrew while he put his free arm around her. "I think I'll be taking you up on it. That's for sure."

Eventually, her mother and uncle disappeared and she sat in the living room doing a crossword puzzle until the phone rang. Knowing that she was the only one who could answer it, Selina did so and found herself talking to her daughter Lucy.

"Mom, is Grandma Amelia all right?" Lucy asked.

"Of course she is," Selina assured her. "Probably better than she's ever been in her whole life. She and my uncle just got married, you know."

"Yeah, I do," Lucy assured her. "I saw the announcement in the paper."

"If you know what Mama is up to, then why are you asking?" Selina wanted to know.

"I'm calling for Charlotte," Lucy said. "She saw the article too and is very offended that Grandma Amelia hasn't yet come here and told her about it. Can I assure her that Grandma will come soon? She thought it would be bad manners to just show up at your house and yell."

"Of course you can tell her that my mother will come soon!" Selina promised. In fact, I'll tell Mama and Uncle Andrew that they need to come pay you a visit right now. Does Uncle Andrew need to come or is it just my mother Charlotte wants to see?"

"Just your mother would be fine," Lucy replied. "And I'd hurry. Damon can only hold her off so long and I think he's near the end of his rope."

"All right," Selina said. "I'll hurry, and Damon will be relieved. I promise." She ended the call and, steeling herself, went to find her mother and uncle, who were, no doubt, in a delicate position. She headed to their room and as they were not being quiet at all, she could deduce very easily that she was right. She knocked on the door and called out, "When you're done in there, I need to talk to you."

The noise stopped and then Amelia called out, "We'll be there in a little while. Thank you so much for knocking."

Selina waited in the living room and soon after, her mother emerged, fully dressed. "All right," she said, sitting down and hitting her hands against her knees. "What's going on? Do you want to talk about your father and Christine?"

"No," Selina shook her head. "It's about Charlotte. Lucy called and told me that she saw the news about your wedding to Uncle Andrew in the papers and is kind of ticked off at you for not coming to tell her about it in person. I suggest you do that before she loses her patience, tosses her manners aside, and comes here to interrogate you for who knows how long."

"I really _was_ going to tell Charlotte eventually," Amelia assured her. "But I just…your uncle distracted me!"

"I would go now if I were you and get it over with," Selina said. "Or at the very latest, go tomorrow if you have to put it off."

"All right," Amelia sighed. "I'll go see Charlotte. She's probably driving poor Damon nuts."

"Yep, that's what Lucy said," Selina nodded. "If you went now, you'd really be doing him a favor."

* * *

"You must think I'm horribly foolish for the way I was carrying on over Sarah's birth," Matthew told Christine as they sat in the baby's room. Christine had heard this speech a thousand times since Sarah had been brought home, but the shame of how emotional he'd been was still troubling Matthew immensely. "I-I'm sorry. I was worrying for nothing, wasn't I?"

"It's all right," Christine assured him. "You were terrified I would die. It's understandable. Selina really held it together, didn't she?" Then she put a hand over her mouth. "I know we said we weren't gonna talk about her, and just focus on Sarah instead." She looked down at the little baby who had tufts of dark hair already and clutched her closer to herself. "Sorry about that."

"Oh, it's fine," Matthew sighed. "I just…I think not talking about her helps me focus on the present, you know? My relationship with her was screwed up, and I'm always going to regret the fact that I can never fix it. Or at least I can never fix it for _her._ I have lots of happy memories of spending time with her at my friend the doctor's house while Amelia was away. But then I made Selina forget them so she couldn't tell Amelia, and that was a mistake. It took the only bit of me that she had away. I can't undo that. I can just tell her how sorry I am for what I did, and then come home and do better with Sarah."

"Exactly," Christine nodded. "No use making yourself sick over something that shouldn't be changed." She handed Sarah over to her father, gave Matthew a kiss, and then gestured at a clock on Sarah's changing table. "When that reaches 5:30, come and get me, all right?"

"All right, I will," Matthew promised.

Then Christine left them alone and Matthew just sat in the rocking chair and smiled down at his new daughter. He hadn't felt like this in _years,_ although the early days of his older daughter were still as fresh in his mind as if they'd happened yesterday. When Selina had been born, Amelia had been apologetic.

" _I know you probably wanted a boy," Amelia said as they stood over baby Selina's cradle while she stared up at them and then began to fuss. Amelia picked her up and tried to calm her, but it didn't work, as usual. "We can try again soon if you want."_

" _Oh, don't be silly," Matthew shook his head and then took Selina from Amelia's arms, making note of the sour face Amelia made when their daughter calmed instantly in his embrace, something that never worked for her. "It's just a blessing that you're both still here with me now. We'll have time to have other children. Let's enjoy ourselves now."_

" _All right," Amelia sighed and then left the room. Matthew then sat down with his daughter, and, besotted as he was with the little girl, he had to wonder if it was Amelia who was disappointed that Selina was a girl and not him. Her parents had constantly reminded her that girls were of less value in the world they lived in, and he thought that she believed it, not only of herself, but of Selina too.  
_

" _Don't listen to your mother," he said, holding the baby close. "She's just feeling melancholy is all. It's not your fault. I love you very much. I can't wait to show you off to everyone that comes to the Christmas party next week." He then paused, thinking to himself about all the amazing things that had happened in the last year: he'd gotten married, and now he was the father of the most adorable little girl he'd ever seen. He had to hang on to her for as long as he could because he knew his father didn't think much of him bonding with his child and had even mentioned more than once about getting him signed up to go fight Mexico. He wasn't interested in that at all, but he knew that it was his duty. That and it was just easier to do what his father said than try and fight him._

" _Your grandfather might make me go away," he told Selina, who'd shut her eyes and was resting against him. "But it won't be forever. I'll come back. I promise."_

 _He then heard Amelia calling for him, so he gave Selina a kiss on the top of her head, put her back in her cradle, and then ran to see what Amelia wanted from him._

"Matthew!" Christine's voice called, jolting him out of his reverie. "Matthew, what's going on? Are you okay? I have to take Sarah from you now."

"Right," he nodded. "Sorry. I guess I just drifted off a little."

"Well, go ahead and go lie down," Christine encouraged. "I have everything under control here."

"All right," Matthew nodded. "But if you do need anything from me, you know where I'll be."

* * *

When were you planning on telling me that you and Andrew were married?" Charlotte asked Amelia when the latter arrived at Damon and Lucy's. Her hands were on her hips and from the stormy look in her blue eyes, it was obvious that she was incensed. Damon used time while her attention was distracted to make a run for it. "I know you're not dead anymore and I am, but that's no excuse to forget to tell me something that important!"

"I'm sorry," Amelia apologized. "We were going to tell you, but we've kind of been…wrapped up in each other. How did you hear about it?"

"From your daughter," Charlotte said dryly. "So…married life is working out for you?"

"Oh, yes," Amelia nodded enthusiastically. "It's very enjoyable."

"Well, I'm happy for you," Charlotte told her. "It's about time you let yourself be with the right man."

"Yes," Amelia nodded and sat down. "It really is. And I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the wedding sooner."

"Oh, it's fine, I guess," Charlotte replied. "You're happy. Who could blame you for focusing your attention on that and not somewhere else? I only hope there's still time for me to have that someday."

"I hope that for you too," Amelia told her. "Because it really is the most wonderful feeling in the world, believe me."

"I do," Charlotte nodded. "I really do. Do you have any idea where nice and handsome ghosts might hang out?"

"No, unfortunately," Amelia shook her head. "I was too focused on Andrew to really have a good idea. But just look at places that are old or have had terrible murders and stuff happen in them. That could be a good start for you."

"It's better than nothing," Charlotte agreed. "I think that's what I'll do."

"Tell me if you find any good prospects, all right?" Amelia instructed.

"My hopes aren't high," Charlotte sighed. "But if I find someone, I'll let you know." Then she disappeared and Amelia went to get to know her granddaughter Lucy for a bit before she headed back to Andrew, and even asked to buy one of her paintings for when Andrew and she had their own apartment."

"You know, a lot of people think my work is too dark," Lucy said as Amelia hefted a painting of a thunderstorm at night. "Do you really like it?"

"Of course!" Amelia assured her. "I wouldn't buy it if I didn't. Would you help me get it to the car?"

"Sure." Lucy replied, taking up one end and walking backward while Amelia walked forward. "Just tell me when I'm about to bump into something and we'll have this out to the car before you know it."

* * *

"Where'd you go?" Andrew asked as Amelia and Lucy came in with the picture. "And who's _that?"_

"Andrew, I went to see Charlotte to tell her about us getting married," Amelia told him. "Apparently, I've been so busy with you that I forgot and it was making her testy. Oh, and this is your great-niece Lucy. Lucy, this is your uncle Andrew."

"Hi!" Lucy replied. "How are you?"

"Much better since I'm no longer dead, thanks," Andrew told her before turning his attention back to Amelia. "It doesn't surprise me that Charlotte was upset. She always _was_ a bit of a battle ax. How did she react to us getting married? Did she scold you?"

The only reason why she scolded me was because it took so long for me to do this in the first place," Amelia replied. "She was always rooting for us."

"That surprises me," Andrew said thoughtfully. "I know she was one of your good friends, but I was always under the impression that she didn't like me."

"Probably because you married Abigail and made me be stuck with Robert Pierce," Amelia replied.

"Well, that's not my fault!" Andrew protested. "Your parents wouldn't let me marry you no matter how eager and sincere I was, so I had to marry someone else! And I was still married when Matthew died, and it would have been terrible form to treat Abigail like a bookmark until you were available to me."

"Very true," Amelia nodded. "And I think Charlotte knows that deep down but it doesn't stop her from being upset."

"Hey, can you help me?" Lucy asked Andrew. "Where would you like my picture hanging?"

" _You_ did this?" Andrew asked in amazement. "My goodness! You're awfully skilled!"

"Thanks," Lucy replied, pushing a loose strand of blonde hair out of her eyes. "I get it from my daddy. So…picture?"

"Can we wait just a minute while I go find your mother and ask her?" Amelia asked. "This is her house and I don't just want to go putting things up without permission."

"They're in Elijah's office," Andrew told her. "I'll take you there."

"All right," Amelia nodded. "But why don't you go have a seat in the living room to wait for us?" She told Lucy. "I promise it won't be too long to wait. And would you like a drink or something?"

"Thanks," Lucy told her. "But don't worry. I can get it myself. I know my way around this house."

"All right," Amelia smiled. "We'll be back in a jiffy."


	30. Ready To Forgive

Finally, Amelia and Andrew began getting money in their bank accounts, and after a long discussion every night before bed, they decided they should move out of Selina and Elijah's house and find a place of their own.

"Are you sure?" Selina asked. "What sort of place would you get?" She looked at her mother. "Do you really think you could find a place that meets your standards? You know, when I was with Elijah's brother Alexander, he gave me a couple of really nice properties. I could sign you over the deed to one of those and you could live there…"

"Selina, that's a very nice offer, thank you," Amelia told her, putting a hand on her arm. "But I just…I really think we need to choose the place ourselves. This new chance has made me less picky than I once was and I think…I think that as long as I'm with your uncle, I'll be happy, whatever the place is like."

"You say that now," Selina smirked. "But just wait until you're in a one bedroom apartment with just one bathroom and _then_ we'll see how much you stick to that promise."

"What?" Amelia bristled. "You think I can't do it?"

"Well, I would like to think that you can," Selina told her. "But face it…you've never lived in a small house before. Your experience of taking care of yourself with no help whatsoever is like, nothing. Not that I'm saying I want you to fail, or that I automatically think you will, but I feel like you're looking at it all with rose-colored glasses and are in for a hard slap in the face by reality when you realize that living on your own is not all it's cracked up to be if you have no experience."

But despite this dire warning, Amelia just smiled sweetly at her daughter. "Thank you for the warning, but I think we'll be fine," she said. "And we'll even get a place that has an extra room for you to come visit because we're nice people."

"Thank you," Selina smiled. "You'll need a mediator at some point. Trust me."

* * *

"Did you offer your mother one of the spare houses Alexander gave you when she told you about what she and your uncle plan to do?" Elijah asked, feeling stunned as he and Selina lay in bed that night and he ran his hand over her bare midsection.

"Yes, I did!" Selina nodded. "But she says that she and Uncle Andrew want to get a place of their own, no matter how small it is! It's Mama's pride, you know. Stops her from wanting help from other people." She paused. "Well, I guess she lived with _us_ this long, so maybe that's _not_ the issue. Maybe the image of her as an entitled rich lady is so firmly burned in my mind that I can't imagine her leading another life even if she can. Maybe I'm being a jerk." She peered at Elijah. "Do _you_ think I'm being a jerk?"

"Well, you grew up in the same circumstances as your mother, didn't you?" Elijah asked her. "And yet you've managed when things have been less than prosperous for you. Give your mother a chance. If she wants an apartment with your uncle, encourage her."

"I will," Selina nodded. "I'll tell them they can live anywhere they want and I wish them luck as long as there's room for me to come and stay. That's fair, right? Hell, in fact that's what I did already."

"Of course!" Elijah nodded. "And I don't see why they'd deny you that anyway."

* * *

Just as Selina had predicted, things didn't turn out all sunshine and roses for her mother and her uncle. Although they found a place with Astrid's help, a small cottage in a very private neighborhood, and made it very clear that they would pay for it themselves, when it came time to decorate the place, they ran into trouble.

From the beginning, Amelia had had it in her head that the place would be decorated the way _she_ wanted, since in her mind, that was the job of a lady: pastels, nice curtains, antique furniture, flowered wallpaper. But when she shared this with Andrew, his face twisted.

"I can't live in a house like that!" He cried. "Don't I get _any_ say at all in how the place is decorated? Cause, I mean, did you _see_ what my brother has going on in his house? That buffalo skull he's got by the fireplace is so wonderful. I want one! And maybe some animal heads on the walls, too."

"No!" Amelia shook her head. "We are _not_ having any dead animals in our house. That's not gonna happen. I'll let you get a puppy or something, but that's it."

"I never said I wanted a puppy," Andrew told her irritably. "I'm paying for this place too, so I demand some say in what it looks like!"

"You have some say," Amelia replied. "You have your office. You can put your stuffed moose heads in there. But nowhere else."

"Oh, my god," Andrew scoffed. "You're really unbelievable, you know that? I really hate this attitude you have that makes you think you're the boss of everything."

"I'm just trying to make sure we have a tastefully decorated home so that when your co-workers and mine come to visit us, they won't think you're some sort of mountain man barbarian!" Amelia yelled. "If you don't like that, that's _your_ problem, not mine!"

"And while we're talking about things we don't like," Andrew continued, "I _hate_ how long you spend in the shower every morning! Sometimes you use all the hot water and leave me with the cold!"

"Of course I do!" Amelia nodded. "And I don't feel the least bit sorry! I'm the one that everyone expects to look my best at all times cause I'm a woman. You can walk around in a beard and a wrinkly suit and people will still bow down to you. Think about that and consider yourself lucky!"

"You've never presented a case in front of a judge, have you?" Andrew questioned. "You come in dressed in something rumpled and they'll let you hear about it. I need to look just as good as you do."

"Fine," Amelia said. "When your precious lady boss starts letting you actually try cases, then I'll let you have a good shower. But until then, it's all mine!"

She strode off then and he heard the shower run. Andrew let out an irritated groan and sank down on the sofa, shutting his eyes and telling himself that sadly, Selina had been right. Though the sex was good, that didn't make up for everything. He still had a lot to deal with where Amelia was concerned and if this was how they fought over decorating, he was very much afraid about the rest of it.

* * *

"Well, look who it is?" Eva smiled when she opened the door and saw Christine with Sarah on the other side. "Come in, come in!"

Christine came inside and sat down on the sofa, taking a deep breath. "Sarah's stuff is out in the car. Would you or Sean mind going and getting it? I would have, but my hands were full."

"I can see," Eva smiled. "You know, it's such a fun coincidence that you brought your baby here. Sean is over at Mary's and they're bringing baby Sean over. The kid's almost a year old now. My god, how time flies." Then she smiled at her friend. "Don't worry; this whole trip won't be all about babies. We can get shopping in or something."

"I really would love that," Christine nodded. "And thank you so much for inviting me here. I think I needed to get away for a bit so Matthew and Selina could talk. I hope they do."

Just then, there was a sound of a key turning, and then a shout. "Eva, my key is stuck. Come and pull the door open, would you?" Sean's voice was clear and perturbed.

"All right," Eva told him. "I'm coming!" She hurried over to open the door and easily pulled the key out of the lock. "Here you go," she said brightly and handed it to him.

"Thank you," Sean replied.

"You could have used your powers to get it out, you know," Eva reminded him. "Why didn't you?"

Sean smiled. "Cause it's more fun to watch you do it," he said.

"Eva!" Little Sean cried out and reached for his aunt. Eva smiled and took him from Mary, who sat on the couch next to Christine. "And who's this?" She asked, reaching out to pat Sarah.

"This is my daughter Sarah," Christine told Mary. "Matthew and I decided that we didn't want to wait to have kids. Sure, Selina might still be having issues with it, but we can't build our whole lives around that, can we? And Matthew is so good with her. It's like he was born to be a parent."

"But I thought he was a vampire!" Eva said. "Did you get inseminated or something?"

"Yeah," Christine nodded matter-of-factly, easily answering what most people would consider a very personal question cause she was used to Eva's bluntness. "I did."

"Has your mother spoken to you about it?" Eva asked again, cuddling baby Sean who was looking at Sarah with interest, then reaching out and accidentally poking Sarah's eye, which made her burst into tears.

"No, no, no," Eva told baby Sean as she pulled him away from Sarah. "We keep our hands to ourselves and don't poke people!" She then gave him to Sean, who offered to take him elsewhere to amuse him while Mary apologized profusely to Christine.

"Oh, it's all right," Christine assured her as she cradled Sarah and tried to calm her down. "He's just a little kid. As for my mother, no, I haven't heard a word from her. She's probably traipsing around with her boyfriend of the week and that's fine with me as long as I don't have to hear about it. She's too self-centered to be of much help to me anyway."

"But I hope I'm not," Eva replied. "I know you have Matthew, but…if you need my help, you just have to let me know."

"Thanks," Christine told her. "Really."

They then lapsed into silence and after a little while, Mary asked Christine, "What's Matthew doing while you're gone?"

"Hopefully bonding with his daughter," Christine said. "It's a hard process and they're still trying to find the way that will fix it for good. I hope it happens soon because it hurts me to think that Selina has a gaping hole in her heart that makes it hard for her to deal with Matthew moving on. And I know it hurts him too. I just want it to be fixed soon. For both their sakes and not just mine."

* * *

"Can we talk in private?" Matthew asked Elijah after he stopped by while Selina was out.

"You…you want to talk to _me_?" Elijah asked. "Of course. What about? And why do we need to talk in private? No one is here but me."

"Well, is there a chance that my daughter could come home soon?" Matthew wanted to know.

"It's possible," Elijah nodded.

So they went into Elijah's office and Matthew shut the door behind him. Then he sat down and after clearing his throat, cut to the chase. "I know you've been around a while," he said. "You probably know all about the different powers vampires have, don't you?"

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "I would say I'm something of an expert. Why?"

"Because the big problem with Selina and me is that when she was a little girl and I would visit her, I would take the memories away after so she wouldn't tell Amelia (who thought I was dead) and freak her out," Matthew told him. "Is there any way for me to give her those memories back?"

"Well, she should have gotten them back when she became a vampire," Elijah replied. "Are you telling me she hasn't?"

"I don't know," Matthew shrugged. "Even if she has, they're obviously not as strong as she feels they should be and I don't know how to help her. I really think this is important cause until she gets those memories back in a way that really means something to her, I don't see us moving forward from where we are now."

"Yes, and that's awful for both of you," Elijah nodded. "I understand. Well, Selina went to the grocery store not too long ago. When she gets back, we'll talk to her to find out just _how_ those memories of you are in her mind now, and then see what we can do to improve them."

"If we can at all," Matthew added pessimistically. "But I really hope there's a way."

"We'll think of something," Elijah promised him.

When Selina finally returned home, he ushered his wife into his office and shut the door behind them. "What's going on?" She asked. "What have I done now?"

"Your father and I were just talking about how we can help you get back your memories of him from when you were a child," Elijah replied. "Cause we think it's really important for your relationship. Tell me, how do you see them now? Do you have them back at all?"

"Yes, I have them back," Selina nodded. "I got them back when I became a vampire, just like you're supposed to, but…it's like I'm watching a silent film of them. I can see them happening, but it's like I have nothing else to do with them. I don't really remember them happening. It's just a bunch of scenes that I'm seeing."

"Ah," Elijah nodded. "All right." He then looked at Matthew. "Please tell me that you were the one who took her memories away, and it wasn't that doctor that she killed."

"It was mostly me," Matthew told him. "It was the idea that was doctor Stensrund's but I did the actual memory wiping except for a couple of occasions."

"The memories of our visits from when I was older are more obvious in my mind," Selina added. "It's the ones from when I was little that are gone."

"That's because when you're young, you're very suggestible," Elijah told her. "If someone compels you to forget something when you're little, you don't have it in you to really fight against that and keep the memories in, so they just go away, whereas when you're older you know that you want to keep them, then you can hold on to them."

"Yes, that's all well and good," Selina snapped impatiently. "But is there any way for me to get the lost stuff back?"

"Yes," Elijah told her. "All Matthew has to do is tell you to remember again and send you the memories back to wake up the ones you have."

"Can he really do that since I'm a hybrid?" Selina asked.

"I should think so," Elijah nodded. "He was a vampire before you were, wasn't he?"

"Well, yes of course he was," Selina nodded. She then sat down and after taking her in his arms, Matthew willed her to remember the past, sending her every memory of her babyhood and early childhood that he could remember.

She closed her eyes as the memories washed over her and tears began falling from her eyes as she looked at Matthew holding her as a baby and a toddler. Smiling at her and telling her how much she meant to him. Seeing him come back in his dirty, dusty army uniform and take baby her in his arms as he cried cause he was so happy to come home to a daughter who was alive when at that point, it was really a crapshoot how long babies would live. It all hit her like a ton of bricks and soon she was clutching Matthew and sobbing while Elijah held her from the other side.

"Thank you," she got out when she could finally talk. "Thank you so much for all of this. I just wish we'd known it was so simple to fix. It would have saved a lot of trouble."

"I know it would have," Matthew told her. "Cause I really did love you, you know. I might have messed up, but I wouldn't have stayed away if I didn't think it was really necessary, however misguided that thought was."

"I know," Selina nodded, her voice still muffled from her face being buried in Matthew's shoulder. "And I'm sorry if this comes out bad, but…now that I can remember all this stuff…I think I'm ready to forgive you."

"Good," Matthew nodded and gave her a kiss. "Thank you so, so much. I've waited a long time to hear you say that."


	31. The Weird House On The Street

Not surprisingly, being able to remember her past with her father, especially the times when she was her sister Sarah's age, made Selina feel much better, not only about her father, but also about Christine as well. With her mother and uncle out of the house, she decided that she would try and make amends to Christine for all her bad behavior.

"It really wasn't _so_ bad," Christine told her when she came by with a plate of assorted cookies. "I understood where you were coming from, even if it was a bit distressing to me sometimes. And you father seems much better too, and that's the most important thing."

"Yeah," Selina nodded and reached for the plate that was on the table. "Can I give you a cookie?"

"Sure," Christine nodded. "And your dad will be happy to have these. Your mom told him about the problems she and your uncle are having about the house and he's helping fix them."

"Is that so?" Selina asked, trying not to laugh as she imagined her poor father being drowned by the more powerful personalities of his brother and ex-wife. "I really hope helps them come to something, or they let him go before they kill him."

"Yeah, no kidding," Christine scoffed and pushed her dark hair out of her eyes before taking a bite out of a chocolate cookie with chocolate chips. "I told him to stay out of this, but of course he didn't listen to me. He has a very giving nature, your father, and he doesn't like seeing people in conflict, especially if he loves them."

"Believe me, I know," Selina replied. "Which is why I can't help but think about what my childhood would have bene like if Daddy hadn't gone off to war, but had stayed home with Mama and me. Things definitely would have been a lot better, that's for sure. A lot calmer. Mama and I might have actually bonded. But enough about the past. No good use in dwelling there." She then picked up her sister who was sitting between them and hugged her gently. "Do you like your daddy?" She asked.

"Yeah," Christine smiled. "The two of them are _very_ close. There are days when I wonder if he's gonna let me near her. Or if he does, it's only cause he knows he has to."

"I would believe that," Selina nodded. "He only left me because my grandfather insisted and I think choosing to not come back was a mistake on his part and he's only allowing himself to realize that now."

"I don't doubt that," Christine replied. "He didn't come back to you because he thought your mother was a fragile person who couldn't handle it and now he's learning that she's a lot tougher than he realized."

"Yeah," Selina chuckled. "I can just see him with my mother and my uncle now: Sitting in the middle while they debate whether their new house will have a look of 'Rustic Hunting Lodge' or 'English Country Cottage'."

"I think your uncle will win," Christine told her as Selina shifted Sarah to a sitting position on her lap. "He seems very determined to have animal heads around like Matthew does."

Selina chuckled. "If you think my uncle will win, you obviously don't know my mother very well."

"I guess not," Christine replied. "You want a drink? Do you need blood?"

"Yeah, a little would be nice," Selina nodded. "I'm a bit parched."

"I'll get it and then I'll take Sarah while you eat, okay?" Christine asked.

"All right," Selina agreed. "Sounds good to me."

* * *

"Maybe we should stop thinking about decorating for a while," Amelia told Andrew after they'd gotten into a pillow fight about the color of the bedroom walls and ended up breaking a lamp. "There has to be a way to solve this that will satisfy both of us! We're mature adults. We can compromise!"

"Can you?" Andrew asked. "Really? I know that I can, but I don't know about you. If Matthew couldn't help us with that to the point where we had to send him home, what hope do we have?"

"Well, you just don't have much faith in me, do you?" Amelia asked. "What decorations do you feel most passionate about? If there's something in the house that you just absolutely _have_ to have your way, I suppose I can let it go."

"You mean you'll let me have my animal heads?" Andrew asked brightly. "And not just hidden away in some office?"

"Yes," Amelia sighed. "I suppose so. If I get my flower curtains. And about the shower: I suppose it wouldn't kill me if we showed _together_. There's room in there for two."

An intrigued spark came into Andrew's eyes. "Are you talking about right now?" He asked. "Or all the time?"

She leaned closer to him and ran her fingers through his dark hair before taking his face in her hands and bringing it close to her. "What do you think?" She asked with a wink. She then hopped off the bed and ran to the shower with Andrew running after her a few seconds later when he realized what she was doing. When she touched the shower door, she burst into giggles and said, "I got here first!"

"No one said this was a race!" Andrew protested. "Otherwise I would have been more alert."

"Oh, don't whine," Amelia told him. "All it means is that you have to get undressed first." She turned the shower on and then watched intently as Andrew stripped down with a hot look in her deep blue eyes. When he stood naked before her and her tongue was sliding across her bottom lip, he grabbed her and whispered against her ear, "All right, it's your turn."

Giggling, Amelia refused until Andrew finally just shoved her under the spray with her clothes _on_ and then stripped them off and threw them over the shower stall and onto the floor before giving her a vigorous scrubbing and then letting her push him against the shower wall and kiss him deeply while running her hands over his wet, soapy body. By the time they got out, they made a decision about the house. It would probably either brand them the neighborhood weirdos or (if people were feeling generous) make them be thought of as delightfully eccentric. But it didn't matter. They were both getting what they wanted and it was good enough for them, other people be damned.

* * *

"So tell me," Selina said to her father as they, along with their spouses, headed to Amelia and Andrew's housewarming party. "Is it bad? Did someone end up horribly injured?"

"It was bad for a while," Matthew told her. "But as I still talk to your uncle every day, I think they worked it out in the end. I'm really proud of your mother for that. Compromise is not one of her best skills."

"You're not kidding," Selina nodded as they reached the house and parked in the driveway. "My childhood is proof of that."

When they drive up Amelia and Andrew's driveway, the front lights were on and a line of cars were already parked along the side of the street by the house.

"Oh, my god," Selina said as Elijah opened the door and helped her out. "It looks so _normal._ I think my mother won."

"Don't be so sure," Matthew cautioned. "Your uncle is a gentleman for sure, and he _does_ love your mother. But I don't think he'd let himself be dominated by her. Not a chance."

"Well, let's go in and see, shall we?" Christine asked, taking Matthew's arm and letting him lead her inside while Selina and Elijah followed behind. What met their eyes as they got into the house was one of the strangest displays of décor that Selina had ever seen. It looked like Amelia had gotten her lace curtains and flowered wall-paper, but protruding out of the sweetly flower-papered walls were several stuffed animal heads. There was a chair in one of the sitting rooms that looked like it was made out of horns or antlers or something, and there was a bearskin rug not unlike Matthew and Christine's by the fireplace. The library had the opposite feel: heavy wood furniture and hunting tapestries and pictures mixed with little china figurines of shepherdesses and girls with baskets, and the cabinets were even filled with some of Amelia's collection of creepy porcelain dolls, some of which only had one eye.

"I wonder if Uncle Andrew insisted these horrors be stored away here if Mama wouldn't let him banish them all to the attic?" She shut the cabinet and turned away, shuddering.

Just as they made their way toward the door, it opened and Amelia poked her head in and then came in the rest of the way when they invited her. She was wearing a red dress just like her daughter and had her blonde hair up with some ringlets hanging down by her eyes. "So," she smiled. "What do you think of the décor? A bit odd, I know. But it was the only way both your uncle and I could have what we wanted."

"It certainly makes an impression," Elijah told her. "And it's nice you and Andrew were able to reach a compromise."

"It is," Amelia nodded. "Plus, one of Andrew's colleagues has a friend who works for an art publication and when she saw the design, she called her friend and he came to look it over and said they want to do a piece on it!"

"Well, and why not?" Christine got out. "You don't see stuff like this every day."

"Are you all gonna stay for dinner?" Amelia asked.

"Sure," Selina asked. "Why not? And on that end, I brought you some wine that I need to go out and get from the car."

"How lovely," Amelia smiled. "Andrew _did_ say that you'd asked him what we were serving. It was nice of you to get something that actually goes."

"You have to thank Elijah for knowing that stuff," Selina said. "Cause I sure don't."

"Pinot Noir?" Amelia asked Elijah, eyebrow raised. "Andrew and I worked together to make up a roast."

"Of course," Elijah nodded. "Although there _are_ a few other types of red that you can choose from. But you have other dinners to experiment with, don't you?"

"Yep," Amelia nodded as Selina brought the wine in. "I do love a good dinner party, so there'll definitely be more in the future." She then led them out of the library and they met Andrew en route to the dining room. "It's not all too much, is it?" He asked his brother as he smoothed the wrinkles out of his gray suit pants.

"Well, it got you in an art publication, didn't it?" Matthew smiled. "And as long as you're happy with it, I have no reason to complain, do I?"

"I just wanted to make sure I hadn't lost my mind," Andrew replied. "Cause I know it looks like I have."

"Not really," Selina told him. "But good job making Mama hide all her creepy dolls in the library. No one wants to see those."

"Yes, I know," Andrew nodded. "Some people would say that the hunting pictures get in the way of one's digestion, but Amelia's dolls…those things staring at you are so much worse." He shuddered and then took Amelia's arm as she rolled her eyes and let him bring her back to the living room where everyone was waiting for them so they could start dinner, and Christine took pictures of it all on her phone to send to Eva, who was watching Sarah and would be very sad she missed something this unbelievable.


	32. Seeing What It's Like On The Outside

"You seem to be spending a lot of time with Christine and your sister," Elijah said to Selina as she returned from Christine and Matthew's one evening.

"Well, I'm sorry," Selina replied. "Should I stop? Are you feeling neglected? Or maybe you should come and visit Sarah sometime. After all, you _are_ her grandpa."

"Oh, my god, you're right!" Elijah exclaimed, his jaw dropping a little. "That completely slipped my mind. Why didn't you say something sooner? Christine probably thinks I'm cold and unfeeling."

"No she doesn't," Selina replied. "I told her you've been busy and would come see Sarah when things have slowed down a little."

"You _did_?" Elijah asked and gave her a kiss. "Well, thank you, that's very nice. And I don't feel neglected at all. It's nice that you're visiting your sister."

Selina gave him a look. "I don't know if I believe you," she said.

"All right, maybe I feel neglected a little bit," Elijah admitted at last.

"I'm _very_ sorry," Selina apologized with a wink and put her arms around his neck. "I should be paying more attention to you. I guess I'm just a terrible wife. What can I do to make it up to you? Should I tell you the good idea that I have?"

"You have a good idea?" Elijah asked, feeling intrigued. "What sort of idea?"

"Well, you know how I said that after we had Amanda and she got out of the house, I wanted to wait a bit before having another child?" Selina asked.

"Of course," Elijah nodded. "I don't forget that sort of thing. Have you changed your mind? Is that what you're trying to tell me?"

"I think so," Selina nodded. "Being around Sarah has kind of given me mommy urges again. So…if you're ready, I suppose we can…woah!"

Elijah didn't even let her finish her sentence before he picked her up and carried her to bed, setting her down on the mattress and shutting the door behind him before beginning to strip down.

"Just a minute!" Selina protested, getting to her feet and striding toward him. "Who said you could undress yourself? Isn't that _my_ job? If you would have waited a few seconds, I would have come to help you." She then began undoing his tie and unbuttoning his shirt. He patiently waited until he stood before her wearing nothing, and then undressed her, then pushed the blankets aside, climbed into bed, and waited for her to come after him.

When they were finally settled and he was hugging her to his body and kissing her neck, he paused to ask, "Are you sure you're ready to do this? This isn't something that just popped into your head in the heat of the moment that you'll regret later?"

"No, it's not," Selina assured him. "It might make things weirder than they already are if I get pregnant and then Sarah has a little niece or nephew for a playmate, but we've already handled so much weirdness with my father's relationship with Christine, a little more won't hurt, will it?"

"No," Elijah shook his head as he pulled the covers over them and buried himself inside her. "I really don't think it will."

* * *

"Well, look at this!" Christine smiled as she came across Matthew sitting on the sofa with Sarah as the two dogs licked the little girl's face and she smiled too. "This is sweet!"

"You're not worried that she's going to be hurt?" Matthew asked, moving her away from the dogs a little.

"Of course not," Christine smiled and pushed Zeke over a little so she could sit next to her husband and daughter. "I've never seen anyone so protective of their child. I know you wouldn't let her get hurt. We should take her outside for a bit. Maybe go out on a hike? I really could use the fresh air."

"You know what?" Matthew smiled. "Me too."

They took Sarah out to the car and then drove to a hiking trail not far away. Christine got out of the car and inhaled a deep breath, then turned to Matthew and smiled. "Let's get out the stroller and get moving," she smiled. "No use standing here on such a pretty day."

"All right," Matthew agreed. "You take her and I'll get out the stroller."

When Sarah was settled, they began making their way down the trail, waving at their fellow hikers, some of whom stopped to admire baby Sarah, who was looking very sporty in tiny jeans, tennis shoes, and a pink t-shirt. She had tiny sunglasses on too.

"Five months old and she already dresses better than I do," Christine smiled. "We're too good to her."

"Well, that's mostly my doing," Matthew told her. "I'm just so glad to finally be able to parent my child that I guess I go a little overboard sometimes. I'll stop if you want."

"Oh, Matthew, I was teasing," Christine smiled at him. They walked a little longer and then stopped beside a good sized rock, so Sarah could be taken out of her stroller and Matthew could take a picture of Christine and Sarah posed there.

It didn't take much to get Sarah to smile. She was an easy-going baby by nature, and both mother and daughter smiled widely for the camera with Sarah reaching out for her father as Christine held tight to her middle.

After the picture was taken, Matthew put the camera in the little bag that hung off the back of Sarah's stroller and took her from Christine cause she was beginning to get squirmy, and carried her the rest of the way down the trail as Christine pushed the empty stroller, and by the time they got back to the car, Sarah was sleeping soundly with her head rested on Matthew's shoulder.

"This was good timing," Christine observed. "It'll be time for her nap when we get home anyway."

"And then while she does that, you and I can watch a movie or something," Matthew replied. "Or do you think I should take Zeke and Jack out first?"

"Take Zeke and Jack out," Christine told him. "Those poor guys are probably just dying to go for a walk. Why didn't we just bring them with us?"

"Cause we're not so skilled that we can watch a baby and two dogs at the same time?" Matthew guessed.

"That is a very good point," Christine conceded. "Sometime though, maybe next time Selina offers to babysit, we'll take the dogs out by themselves so they don't think we've forgotten them."

"I don't think that will be a problem," Matthew assured her. "My hunting buddies are coming in a few days."

"That's right, they are!" Christine said. "I forgot all about that. It's good you reminded me. I'll think of something for Sarah and me to do so we're out of your way, because I doubt the guys will be as charmed by a cute baby as most other people."

"Oh, I'm sure they could stand to see her while you're on your way out," Matthew assured her. "But yeah, making a date with Selina or Eva the day of will be a good idea."

"No problem." Christine told him before twisting around to look at her daughter, who was still soundly asleep in the backseat. "No problem at all."

* * *

"What's the matter with you?" Lucy asked Charlotte as she posed for yet another picture, ghosts being right up Lucy's alley. "You seem so down lately."

"Well, I've just been sort of bored, I guess," Charlotte shrugged. "I mean, I like you and I love my son, but…I haven't had much to do with myself since Amelia got married." She laughed to herself. "I thought I would jump for joy the day Amelia found something to do with herself and wouldn't ask me to run her life, but now that she has…I have nothing to do!"

"Why don't you travel?" Lucy asked, putting some red paint on her brush to paint Charlotte's dress. "I'm sure there are some lovely haunted castles you could hang out in. I liked Europe. Even met a ghost there. Good times."

"Yes," Charlotte nodded. "That would be a good idea. Maybe I can meet someone. It'd be better than just staying around here with nothing to do, wouldn't it?"

"If you feel you need a change, I'm sure not going to tell you to stay," Lucy told her. "Even if it would mean losing an awfully attractive subject."

Charlotte smiled. "Well, aren't you a sweet girl?"

"I really try to be," Lucy told her. Just then, there was a knock on the door, so Lucy put her paintbrush down and strode over to it. "Damon?" She called. "Is that you? What can I do for you?"

"I was just thinking of going hunting," Damon called back. "You wanna take a break and come with me? Or are you and my mother too busy?"

Lucy turned to face Charlotte. "Are you ready to take a break?"

"Of course," Charlotte nodded. "It's no trouble. You go hunt. I'll still be here when you come back."

"You don't have to be," Lucy told her. "You can go any time, if that's what you want."

"Well, I wouldn't abandon you when you still have a picture of me to finish," Charlotte assured her. "I might leave after that, but not before. You and Damon go ahead and have a good time and I'll be here when you get back."

"All right," Lucy told her and opened the door to give Damon a kiss, which made his mother smile, even though he blushed a little when he saw she was looking. "See you then." She then shut the door to her studio and followed Damon out of the house to go hunting while Charlotte materialized in Damon and Lucy's bedroom to think of places she could go when she left their house and went on her adventure.


	33. A Surprise For Sarah

"I know I shouldn't be thinking about this," Matthew said to Christine. "But…don't you wonder what the man who fathered Sarah is like?"

Christine shrugged. "I'm a little curious, but it wouldn't ruin my life if I didn't find out. And even if I _was_ curious, I don't know how I'd go about getting an answer, or at least not a quick one. The guys always donate anonymously to the sperm bank and the people that work there aren't usually willing to break confidentiality."

"Oh, of course," Matthew nodded. "I understand. And I don't really have to know, because for all intents and purposes, I'm Sarah's father and that's that."

"Exactly," Christine said. And then she paused. "But I…but I suppose that if you _really_ wanted to know, I could find a way to get answers for you. I'm skilled that way, but like I said, it wouldn't be quick. But now that I think about it, we should at least _try_ to get more information on the man. There could be stuff we need to know for Sarah's health!"

"But wouldn't her being a vampire put to rest any health fears we ordinarily would have?" Matthew asked, and then paused when she gave him a look. "You're trying to give me a reason for us to go snoop around in the sperm bank's records, aren't you?" He asked. "Never mind. I won't protest then."

"Good," Christine smiled, throwing her arms around him and giving him a kiss. "Cause I can tell you want to know just as much as I do. I'll try and look stuff up as soon as I can. I promise."

"All right, good," Matthew said. "There's really no rush though."

"I _want_ there to be a rush," Christine smiled, her big dark eyes bright. "I'm really not a patient person. Not the least bit, especially when I'm curious."

* * *

But it was hard for them to find the time, and even after a month had passed, they still hadn't checked it out. Then something happened that made it clear to them that checking would be a good idea: they were eating breakfast one day and suddenly, Sarah rose from her high chair and began floating in the air, hovering just above it and bursting into tears.

"Oh, good god!" Christine cried as she hurried over and gently grabbed Sarah's leg to pull her down to earth and cuddling her to calm her down while Matthew sat at the table with his bacon falling from his open mouth.

"What the hell is going on?" He asked after he swallowed.

"I-I don't know," Christine replied. "I really don't. Think we should go ask your daughter? Or maybe Eva would be a better choice. Cause if I didn't know better, it would seem like Sarah is doing… _magic._ "

"Well why don't we cover both bases?" Matthew suggested. "Two heads are better than one, after all. You take Sarah to see Sean and Eva and whomever else they can get hold of to tell us what in the world's going on with our child, and _I_ will go to Selina and Elijah's to see if either of them has anything to say on the subject."

"But they're both vampires," Christine pointed out. "How could they help us?"

"Well, they've both been around," Matthew replied. "So even though they aren't magical themselves, I don't think they would be entirely useless."

"All right," Christine nodded. "Whatever you say. If you think they'll be helpful, I'm not gonna contradict you again."

"Well, good," Matthew nodded. "So you go see Eva, and I'll go see Selina and Elijah and then we'll compare notes after."

"All right," Christine nodded, holding Sarah tight as she zipped her into her jacket in case she tried to float away or disappear. When she got her zipped in, she picked her up and gave Matthew one last salute before heading off to see Eva and Sean.

* * *

"What's the matter?" Eva asked when she answered Christine's furious knock and watched as Christine strode into the house. her face full of worry. "Are you okay? What can I do to help?"

"Sorry for worrying you," Christine said, handing her Sarah so she could take off her own coat before removing her daughter's. "I'm just a little freaked out, though."

"Don't tell me you and Matthew have had a fight," Eva told her. "He seems like such a nice, stable man. But then again, those are always the ones you never suspect."

"No, Matthew is not the problem," Christine shook her head and took Sarah back in her arms. "I know this might sound crazy, but…Matthew and I think she's a witch. We were eating breakfast and out of nowhere, she started floating in the air, and-" She broke off as Sarah sneezed and then disappeared.

"See what I mean?" Christine asked in exasperation. "Can you help me? How do I get her to come back?"

"I can do it easier than you can," Eva replied and brought her back. Sarah then lay against Eva's shoulder, her eyes wide with fright.

"She looks terrified, poor baby," Christine said as she reached out to stroke her daughter's hair. "Is there anything we can do to make this stop?"

"Not really," Eva shook her head. "Sorry about that. But on the bright side, it'll even out when she's around a year old."

" _Six months_ of this?" Christine yelled louder than she meant to. "How are Matthew and I supposed to deal with this for six months? Neither of us has magic!"

"Take a deep breath and lower your voice," Eva instructed calmly. "I know you're scared, but yelling isn't gonna help things. It'll just make it worse for your daughter and you don't want that, do you?"

"No," Christine shook her head, properly chastised, before saying in a quieter voice, "What do you think we should do?"

"Well, the easiest option would be for either Sean or I (or some other magical person that you trust) to move in with you until Sarah's powers have calmed down and she doesn't blow up like this. Or you could move in with us. We'd be more than happy to take you all in."

"That's sweet," Christine told her as they sat down on the sofa in the living room. "But we have Jack and Zeke, remember. And I don't think Matthew would be comfortable with sending the dogs away for so many months."

"And how do the dogs react to strangers?" Eva asked. "Well, of course I'm not a stranger, but I haven't been to your house as much. Would my being there upset the dogs?"

"I don't think so," Christine shook her head. "I think they know you well enough."

"Good," Eva nodded. "And…and do you think Matthew would mind having a house guest? Or two?"

"I think he's willing to do whatever needs to be done to get our daughter through this," Christine told Eva firmly. "And after you and Sean have gotten yourselves settled, I'm gonna look up that sperm bank and see just what they left out of the summary for the man I chose to father our daughter!"

It was then that Sean came into the living room carrying baby Sean. "I _did_ hear Christine!" He said with a smile. "Christine, how are you?"

"They found out that the guy who fathered Sarah is a warlock," Eva explained. "Would you mind moving into their house with me until things even out cause otherwise, if something happens like Sarah turning into a bug, her parents won't be able to fix it."

"All right," Sean nodded. "That sounds all right with me."

And even though he wasn't moving in with them, baby Sean seemed to like the idea too. He was just over a year old now and reaching for Sarah.

"Look at that, Sarah Selina," Christine remarked as she took baby Sean on her other knee. "It looks like you have a friend."

Just as baby Sean had settled in Christine's lap, Sarah changed again, this time into a puppy. To Christine's surprise, instead of being frightened, Sean just reached out to pet it and then when his uncle turned it back into Sarah, he burst into tears for a moment before reaching his fingers toward her arm and patting it a couple of times.

"That's nice," Eva told him. "Much nicer than poking her in the eye." Then she looked at Christine. "Do you feel better now, even a little? I sure hope you do."

"I'm still a little shocked," Christine told her. "But I'm feeling much better than I did just an hour ago. Thank you so much."

"You're very welcome," Sean told her. "What are friends for?"

* * *

"Sarah did _what?"_ Selina cried when Matthew told her what had happened at breakfast. "Are you kidding?"

"No," Matthew shook his head. "Sarah was floating in the air! I saw it with my own eyes. It was shocking!"

"And that says a lot coming from a guy who got turned into a vampire and then was buried alive," Selina said after turning to Elijah.  
"So Sarah rose from her high chair and floated in the air," Elijah reiterated.

"Yep!" Matthew nodded and ran his fingers through his hair. "And since Christine's not a witch, Sarah's magic had to come from the man who fathered her, whoever he is."

"Are you gonna find out?" Selina asked. "Or are you just gonna let Eva help you with all the magic stuff and leave the rest be?"

"Oh, no, we're gonna find out the man's identity," Matthew assured her. "We've been meaning to do that for a while now. We just haven't had the time. Christine is with Eva right now, and I think she's gonna leave Sarah there, and then we'll go see what we can get out of the people at the fertility clinic." He paused. "Or even if we don't do that now, that's our eventual plan. At the very least, I hope she can convince Eva or Sean to come stay with us until this magic mess clears itself up. Because I know for a fact that I'm no help with that. You _did_ have a supernatural parent, Selina, but it wasn't me."

"And I know Elijah and I aren't magical, but if you ever need to just get away, we'll be here for you," Selina told him and put a hand on his arm. "We'll make up a room for you if you want to stay the night. It won't be a problem."

"Heck, even if all you want is a stiff drink or two, we can help with that also," Elijah added.

"Thank you," Matthew told them. "That really takes a weight off my mind." His phone rang and when he answered it, he was glad to hear Christine's voice. " _Please_ tell me you got someone to help us with the magic stuff," he begged her.

"Yes," Christine replied, which made him let out a relieved breath. "Eva and Sean are moving in with us so we don't have to worry about what to do with Zeke and Jack. I hope you don't mind. And I also hope you don't mind if we wait a bit to get information from the fertility clinic. I'm still a bit overwhelmed to do that now."

"Of course I don't mind," Matthew replied. "Anything that can help us, I don't mind at all. I'll be there in a little bit."

"All right," Christine nodded. "See you then."

After she ended the call, Matthew hugged his daughter, shook his son-in-law's hand, and then left the house to go home to his wife and his suddenly magical daughter.


	34. No Longer In The Dark

Although the situation with Sarah was toughest for her parents, Eva and Sean had their struggles too. It took him a while to adjust and when he was finally comfortable in his room, that's when he went up to Christine after breakfast one day, his cheeks flushed deep red, and said to her, "I have a question, and don't be afraid to answer 'No' if that's how you feel."

"All right," Christine nodded. "What's the question?"

"Do you…do you mind if Eva and I be intimate under your roof?" He asked. "Because I know I'm a guest here and I wouldn't want to presume to do something that would make you uncomfortable."

Christine heard his earnest question and tried really hard not to laugh before managing to say, "Of course you can have sex. Eva won't put up with being celibate for six months! If you're embarrassed to think that we might hear you or something, you can put a spell on your door to block out the sound, but you really have no reason to be nervous about doing that in our house."

Sean gave a little smile and nodded. "Good. You probably think I'm really stupid for asking such a question, don't you?"

"No, it's fine," Christine shook her head. "I know you well enough now that I expected you to ask it. And before I forget, thank you _so_ much for coming with Eva to help us. It's been sort of a shock and it's nice to know we have people in our corner who know what they're doing."

"It…it's really not a problem," Sean assured her. "I'm more than happy to help. I remember when Mary's parents found out that she was a witch and what a shock it was for them." He paused. "Of course it's not the same because Mary's powers were cursed to be dormant and both Savannah and Jonathan have magic powers, but the surprise was the same."

Just then, Eva came out holding Sarah, who was playing with the sparkly necklace Eva wore around her neck. "You like this necklace, Magpie?" She said to the baby, who had not only played with her necklaces and bracelets since she'd walked in the door, but also tried to gnaw on the edge of her tiara (the fake one, not the real one. That was locked safely away.)

"It's nice to see the two of you getting along," Sean remarked. "You seem to be warming up to her a lot easier than you do with my nephew, Eva."

"Well, that's because Sean is a boy and I think you've kind of conditioned him to not warm up to people so easily," Eva replied. "What do you _teach_ him when the two of you are alone together? He's _way_ more serious than someone his age should be."

"How do you know _I'm_ the one who's responsible for that?" Sean asked. "Maybe it's just his natural personality."

Eva shrugged. "Could be." She then sat down with Sarah and began tickling her, making her laugh so hard that the power suddenly went out.

"Okay, okay!" Matthew cried, his voice full of alarm as he came running into the living room with a flashlight, lost his balance in the dark, and fell on his face on the living room floor.

"Are you okay?" Christine asked and helped him to his feet when they got a little light on in the room. "How badly are you hurt?"

"Who cares about me! What happened to the power?" Matthew shouted.

"It's my fault," Eva told him. "I got Sarah all worked up by tickling her and that made the power go kablooey."

"Wonderful," Matthew sighed. "Just great. Can't you use your powers to get it back on?"

"No, we can't," Sean told him apologetically. "That's the weird thing about magic: it can blow power out, but electricity is too complicated to fix with magic. Don't ask me why that is. I have no idea."

"Why don't you go see your brother or something," Christine urged him. "I think it would do you good to get out of her for a bit."

"All right," Matthew agreed. "You don't have to tell me twice."

* * *

"You poor man," Amelia told her former husband when he stopped by the house to visit Andrew and tell him what was going on with his niece. "First a werewolf child, and now a witch one."

"With you, it wasn't so bad," Matthew told Amelia. "Your family didn't want to be what they were, so other than the occasional mood swing, I didn't have much to worry about. But Sarah is showing actual powers. Hell, she blew out the power at our house, which is one of the reasons I came over here in the first place. Christine's taken it a lot better than I am. We have her friend helping us out, so that's good." He paused. "But enough about me. What about you?"

"Well, Charlotte's headed for the hills, according to our granddaughter Lucy," Amelia replied. "I'm going to miss her, but I'm sure she's glad to be able to live her own life without having to think about me."

"Yeah, I hope she finds someone or peace or whatever," Matthew agreed. "She deserves it after so long."

"But that means I need to find another friend," Amelia sighed. "I don't know if I can do that."

"Well, it's good you and Selina are getting so close then," Andrew told her.

"Yeah, I guess," she agreed. "Cause if you remember, that didn't work out so well after Charlotte died. That's when our relationship got _worse!_ "

"Well that was because you tried to turn her into a Charlotte substitute even though she was only five years old and completely ignored everything she liked to do," Andrew replied. "You didn't listen to what she had to say at all. But now you two are talking, so I don't see it doing bad again."

"So you're saying that I should have just let her wear pants and ride bareback and run around and get dirty like a boy?" Amelia asked, looking horrified. "People would have been horrified! I never would have been invited to another social gathering again!"

"Yes, but what's more important?" Andrew asked. "A relationship with a bunch of shallow people you only see every so often, or a relationship with someone you have to live with and who trusts you to care for them?"

"I know the answer is the second one," Amelia said. "And that's why I got so worried when Selina hurt my parents' overseer. I knew that if I didn't make it clear to my parents that I had Selina under control, they would do to her what they did to me when I had my own accident after a show of temper."

"And what was that?" Andrew asked. "Was it really so bad that you felt you needed to alienate your daughter?"

It was then that Amelia locked eyes with Matthew. "Would you please tell him? I don't want to talk about it."

"You never told him?" Matthew asked, looking at her in surprise.

"Well, the right time never came up, and like I said, I don't like talking about it," Amelia repeated.

Matthew nodded and then turned to his brother as Amelia grabbed for Andrew's hand. "When Amelia was little, she got in a fight with another girl and hurt her badly. Her parents, fearing that that would make her turn into a werewolf, locked her up in the attic for a long time and restrained her so that in case she turned, there would be less of a chance of her hurting someone."

"And this was _before_ Jake was killed," Amelia added quietly. "It frightened me a lot. But at the same time, I was used to my family putting our reputation over my well-being so it wasn't like it was a surprise." She sighed. "I don't know why I did the same thing to Selina. I was just trying to save her from my parents." She then buried her face in Andrew's shoulder and cried.

"But you didn't do the same thing to her," Andrew whispered into Amelia's hair. "You may have yelled, but you never restrained her or hurt her. You took it all on yourself. That's not to say that Selina shouldn't feel like there were problems, but you were nowhere _near_ as bad to her as your parents were to you. And deep down, I think she knows that."

"I hope so," Amelia nodded. "I really do."

Matthew watched his ex-wife a few seconds more and then came to sit on her other side, hugging her just like his brother was doing. "It's all right," he told her. "You don't need to think about this anymore."

"Good," Amelia nodded. "Because I really don't want to."

When Matthew pulled away, Andrew whispered to Amelia, "Do you want me to call Selina and ask her if she'll make some of those lemon bars you like?"

"Yes, please," Amelia nodded. "You think you have the hang of using the phone? Take mine, and press one. That will call Selina's house directly."

"Are you sure?" Andrew asked while Matthew had a little chuckle at his brother's expense. Not believing her, he handed Matthew Amelia's phone and he did exactly what she said. Then, he waited for her to answer.

* * *

"So…how are you feeling?" Elijah asked Selina, feeling curious about how their plan to have another child was coming along. "You've been off your pills for some time now. Has it done any good?"

"It's only been a few days," Selina told him. "Be patient! If you wanna see a kid so bad, we can go to Christine's and see Sarah." She paused. "Unless you have a terrible fear of magical children just like your nephew."

"I'm not scared of anything," Elijah told her firmly. "But all right. After school tomorrow, we'll go see Christine and Sarah."

"All right," Selina nodded. "But remember that Sean and Eva are visiting to help Daddy and Christine with the magic stuff. You get along with them, don't you?"

"I don't see why I wouldn't get along with them," Elijah replied.

Selina then picked up her phone as it began vibrating in her pocket. "Hello?"

"Hi, Selina," Matthew's voice said. "Your mother's feeling a little down. Would it be much trouble for you to whip up some of those lemon bars she likes and bring them over to your uncle and mother's house?"

"Sure," Selina agreed. "I'll be there with them as soon as I can."

"Thank you, darlin'," Matthew told her. "I think it will do your mother a lot of good. She just had to think about when your grandparents locked her up."

Selina sucked in her breath. "That story always terrified me when I was a kid. I'll bring the bars over as soon as I can. Bye, Daddy."

"Bye, darlin'!" The call ended and Selina headed to the kitchen to check and see if she had everything for the lemon bars or if she needed to visit the store. When she realized she had everything, she got out bowls and measuring spoons (some of which Elijah had to lift her up to reach cause the shelf in the cupboard was too high up) and handed Elijah the recipe book.

"Would you read the instructions for me, please?" She asked. "Mama's feeling bummed so Daddy asked me if I would make the lemon bars she likes to cheer her up. I know there are many lemon bar recipes on that page, but the one we want is the one with the blue star next to it."

Elijah looked all the recipes over and quickly found the one that she meant, clearing his throat and reading each direction out slowly, sometimes stopping to say, "Are you sure you put enough flour in the cup?" or "That seems like a bit too much sugar to me."

"No, it's _fine,_ " Selina said through her teeth and then gave his butt a swat with a spatula. "Please just _read_ the directions like they're supposed to be read without the extra commentary."

"Well, all right," Elijah replied, feeling his pants where she'd swatted him to make sure there wasn't a stain. "You don't have to get so violent."

A little over an hour later, the lemon bars were done, and while Selina drove them over to her mother, Elijah called Christine and asked if he could come visit.

"Actually, it would be better if we came to you," Christine told him. "Would that work? We have a bit of a power outage here."

"How did that happen?" Elijah asked.

"Eva was tickling Sarah and she got her laughing too much, then everything went kablooey," Christine told him. "Now we're sitting around holding flashlights and the living room has so many candles it's like a church."

"Sure, you can come and bring Sarah over," Elijah told her. "It's about time I saw her anyway. But don't forget to blow out those candles before you come here." He then told Christine goodbye and waited for them to arrive.

* * *

"Wow, it's really bright in here," Christine remarked when she and Sarah made their way into Elijah's house.

"After all the darkness, I suspect you'd think it would be," Elijah replied and then took Sarah from her mother's arms cause the baby was excited to meet someone new and nearly out of Christine's grip. "And did you say this little one was a witch?"

"Yes," Christine nodded. "So stay calm and don't work her up. I don't know if I can deal with any more mishaps today." She then looked around. "Is Selina here? I didn't see her car. Did she know we were coming and take off?"

"No, she's taking lemon bars to her mother who's had an upset," Elijah replied as Sarah began pulling on his shiny silver cufflinks. "It has nothing to do with you. Don't worry."

"Sarah, I know those are shiny," Christine said as she got the cufflinks out of her daughter's grip. "But we don't want to pull on them, all right?"

"It's okay," Elijah told her and gave Sarah a kiss on the head. "Let me go change my clothes. That way she won't have anything to grab at. It won't take me more than a minute."

"All right," Christine nodded. "I'm sorry if it's an inconvenience."

"It's not," Elijah assured her. "I dress more casually around babies anyway. It should just show you how long it's been since I've been around one that I forgot." He then went to change into jeans and a sweater while Christine gave Sarah one of her toys to play with as they waited for Elijah to come back.


	35. Friday Night Knitting Club

"Why haven't you come and visited your uncle and me very much?" Amelia asked Selina. "We set up a room for you and everything, just like you asked. Is it because our house is decorated crazy and it scares you?"

"Oh, _please_ , Mama," Selina told her. "After all I've been through in my life, the _last_ thing that would scare me is deer heads on a wall that's wall-papered in roses."

"Well, why then?" Amelia asked. "Is it me?"

"No, I've just been a little busy," Selina told her. "Elijah and I are trying to get me pregnant again and it's taking longer than it has in the past."

"Oh," Amelia nodded. "Sorry, I didn't know. Don't let me interfere with that. You just come over when you're ready. In fact, why don't you take a break this weekend? Your uncle is going to spend a few days trying to calm your father down. Maybe you and I could use that time to get reacquainted now that we're on better footing. What do you think?"

"Well," Selina replied, trying to sound enthusiastic although the voice in her head was screaming, 'No! Don't do it! You'll regret it for the rest of your life!' "Well, I think…I think that could be fun. Why not?"

"Good," Amelia told her. "We'll have fun, I promise. I'm really looking forward to us having a chance to get reacquainted."

"Yeah," Selina replied. "Me too. Can't wait!" She then ended the call and collapsed into a chair with her head in her hands, wondering what in the world she'd gotten herself into and if she should call again and back out before her mother got her hopes up too high. Maybe she could ask Elijah when he got home. He was good at helping her with these kinds of things. And she was sure that it wouldn't be _too_ long before he got back from wherever it was that he'd gone. He never stayed out too late at any place, especially if he had to be somewhere like school the next day. He was the sort who was all about being well-rested and on the ball, and staying out late wouldn't help him do that. So she sat by the door and waited for him to come home, hoping that it would really take as little time as she thought it would.

* * *

"Should I go and hang out with my mother?" Selina asked Elijah, springing up from her chair and pouncing on him as he came in the door and before he'd even had time to remove his coat. "On the one hand, she's right that we're getting along much better…but are we getting along well enough that putting us in the same room without any sort of referee will end well? Cause I have years and years of memories that say it won't."

"Well, would you like me to come with you?" Elijah asked as he hung his coat up. He was used to being ambushed for advice and took it in stride. "I would be more than happy to."

Selina put a hand on his cheek. "You know, you're very sweet, but Mama has her heart set on this being an all-girls thing and I think it would hurt her if I brought you. She might believe that I don't trust her."

"Well, you don't yet, do you?" Elijah asked.

Selina shrugged. "I don't know. It's a shame Damon's mother has gone her own way now. I could have used her. I'll try and go in with a good attitude and we'll just see what happens. You know, like you do whenever you have to see one of _your_ parents."

"Well, I think that's a bit of a generous description for how I prepare myself to visit Mother and Father, but I'll take it," Elijah replied with one side of his mouth up. "I think I need some blood. I'll go down and get it and when I get back, we can talk more."

"Actually, you don't _need_ to go downstairs," Selina told him and then took out a half-full bag of blood from the fridge. "Here's one I started on this morning. You wanna have the rest? I figure it's less wasteful that way."

"All right, good idea," Elijah told her and took the blood bag out of her hands. He studied it, noticing that the blood in the bag stopped at a thin but distinct line that he'd made on the bag with permanent black marker. "You stopped at the line," he said. "I'm proud of you."

"Well, why _shouldn't_ I stop at the line?" Selina asked. "That's what it's there for, right? To make sure I don't take too much?"

"Yes," Elijah nodded and put one arm around her. "I just want to tell you how proud I am that you're actually paying attention to what the line means and not just ignoring it. You could very well do that, you know. Especially since I'm well aware that you find some of the restrictions I place on you annoying."

"Maybe sometimes," Selina agreed and put her arms around him as he tilted his head back and let the blood from the bag trickle down his throat. "But you mean well. And though it was fun for a while, I really don't ever want to be in the dark place I was during my Lonely Heart days. I mean, it was _bad_."

"'It was bad'?" Elijah asked dryly. "Well, _that_ is a massive understatement."

"Yes, yes, yes," Selina nodded. "I know. If I could go back in time and rescue everyone that I killed, I would, but I can't, so there's no use dwelling on it, is there?"

"Would you really rescue _everyone?"_ Elijah asked, throwing the blood bag away.

"Well, if I could do it again, I would only kill my cheating boyfriends in my mind," Selina clarified. "Not in real life."

"I suppose that's better than nothing," Elijah told her, taking her in his arms and kissing her hair. "So…you want to head to bed, or eat first?"

"No, we can go to bed," Selina assured him. "But only after you answer my question about my mother. Should I accept her invitation to come visit or not?"

"Have you already?" Elijah asked. "Or did you tell her that you would wait to hear my counsel and then call her back?"

"I sort of told her that I would come already," Selina replied. "But the thing she wants to do is a few days away, so I have time to rethink this, right?"

"No, I think that if you told your mother that you would go, you should go," Elijah told her firmly. "I know that's not what you want to hear, but you know it's the right thing to do. Has she told you what she has planned to do during this little soiree?"

"No," Selina shook her head. "But I know the sort of things she likes to do, so it won't take a lot of guessing. I wish she'd let _me_ pick an activity sometimes."

"Well, isn't there something you could suggest that you'd _both_ enjoy?" Elijah asked. "What's that thing you're doing when you make blankets and sweaters and things? That's sewing, isn't it?"

"It's knitting," Selina corrected. "That's different."

"But it's still something that you both might like," Elijah said. "Why don't you bring that sweater you're working on for Sarah and tell her what you're doing and maybe she can help you. Four hands are always better than two."

"Yeah." Selina smiled and grabbed his hands, running them over her butt. "You want me to tell you what I wish _your_ hands would be doing right now?"

"You don't need to tell me," Elijah replied, picking her up and carrying her to bed, putting her down on the mattress and quickly undressing her. "I'm already several steps ahead of you." She then unbuttoned his shirt and his pants, pulling him close against her. "Are you really?" She whispered against his ear.

He then buried himself deep inside her and as she ran her fingers through his hair, she closed her eyes and tried, for the moment, not to think about her mother.

* * *

"Now remember, be nice to Selina, all right?" Andrew told Amelia before he left for Matthew and Christine's on the night Selina was supposed to come visit. "She decided to come here with you and bond with you, which means that if you see anything that will give you the urge to nitpick, it's best to keep quiet about it."

"Yes, I know that," Amelia told him. "I wasn't going to nag her."

"You always say that, but with her, old habits are hard to break," Andrew replied. "Just be mindful of that."

"I will," Amelia nodded. "This is about cutting loose and having fun, not about me trying to control things."

"Oh?" Andrew asked, eyebrows raised. "And what sort of fun did you have planned for this evening?"

"Well, I thought we could, you know, sew things," Amelia replied. "And maybe do some talking about how to decorate her house. Cause it really needs work, you know."

"You mean you want to do the same sort of things that you would have done with her when you both were human a long time ago," Andrew interpreted. "The sort of things that drove her away from you in the first place."

"Well, I don't know what else to do!" Amelia cried and threw her hands up in the air. "I know I'm not hip, but that's not my fault!"

"Let _her_ suggest what to do," Andrew said. "And before you start complaining cause it's something you'd never do, give it a chance. You might end up having fun."

The doorbell rang and he gave her a kiss before following her to the door and standing behind her. "You don't need to stand behind me," Amelia told him over her shoulder. "I can do this."

"I just want to make sure that you're both in a good place before I leave," Andrew told her firmly. "Don't you try to pretend that that's not a justifiable thing to think."

"Oh, all right," Amelia huffed. She opened the door and was taken aback to see Selina standing there with more lemon bars in one hand and what looked like a bag of yarn in the other.

"Hello!" Selina said with a smile. "Sorry if I'm late. It took the lemon bars a bit longer to cook than usual."

"No, you're fine," Amelia replied. "It was so sweet of you to bring them cause you remember what I always told you about being a good guest. But…but can I ask what the yarn was for? Did you know somehow that I wanted to sew tonight?"

"If you don't want to do that, it's fine," Andrew told Selina firmly after greeting her and hugging her too. "Your mother understands that you two don't necessarily like the same things and she was actually planning on letting _you_ choose what you do tonight. So if you want to go out, she's all for it."

"Are you _really_?" Selina asked, looking at Amelia in surprise as her mother took the second batch of lemon bars from her hands. "Or is Uncle Andrew only saying that so I'll stay?"

"No, I really was planning on letting you decide what we do," Amelia told her honestly as Andrew told them goodbye and good luck and headed for Matthew's house. "So we don't need to sew for my benefit."

"Well, actually, I wasn't thinking that we would sew," Selina replied and brought the yarn into the living room, dumping out the various colors and pushing her sweater in progress for baby Sarah aside. "I was thinking I could teach you crochet. Would you like that? It's _kind_ of like sewing."

"What is that that you just pushed aside?" Amelia asked. "Is that a project? Something you've started? Let me see it, please."

Feeling a little wary of subjecting something that she was still working on to her mother's critical eye, Selina nonetheless handed her mother the beginning of the sweater. "Just don't pull on anything or you'll make it all unravel. It's the sweater that I'm making for Daddy and Christine's baby."

"Well, I think she'll look good in it," Amelia said after a little while. "It really _is_ exquisite craftsmanship." She chuckled a little. "From how your samplers used to look, I never would have thought you were capable of it."

"Yes, well, I tend to do better work on a sweater I like working on than a sampler I don't," Selina pointed out. Then she handed her mother an extra set of knitting needles and after Amelia chose some green yarn and a simple pattern and ate a lemon bar for nourishment, she began trying to knit a hat, which wasn't as easy as it looked.

"Damn it!" She cried and threw down the yarn in frustration as she looked at the tangled mess in her hand, all the while ignoring a tiny, successfully knitted square that was hanging off the yarn tangle cause it looked nothing like a hat. "Why is this so fucking _hard_?!" She then looked up at her daughter who was trying not to laugh. "What?" She asked.

"Nothing, it's just…less than an hour with me and you're already swearing like a sailor," she gave Amelia a hug. "I'm so proud of you."

"Well," Amelia replied and hugged her back. "I don't think a loss of temper is anything to be proud of and if my mother were here she'd take the whip to my back, but…I guess I'll accept that it's all right if you tell me it is."

Selina then let her go and took the yarn from her. "What are you trying to make again?" She asked, untangling the yarn and seeing that her mother had managed to knit a square of good size.

"A hat," Amelia glowered. "But as you can see, I've gotten nowhere."

"Now don't be so hard on yourself," Selina told her. "I think you're off to a good start with this square here. What do you say we call it a pot holder and then you can start a hat with some different yarn?"

"All right," Amelia smiled. "I-I suppose I could do that. Thank you, dear. Thank you very much."


	36. Getting The Help You Need

"How are things with Sarah?" Selina asked her father. "Do you feel any better about that?"

"It's still a little hard to believe," Matthew told her, eyes wide. "I can't believe I have a daughter who's a witch!"

"You know, I have a friend named Amy who's a witch and I really think it might help you to talk to her about witch stuff, you know?" Selina encouraged. "She's so sweet, really."

"Are you sure?" Matthew asked. "I know it sounds ridiculous, but I have this image in my head of the Wicked Witch of the West and I'm kind of skeptical that she'll be of any help to me."

"Oh, of course she's not like the Wicked Witch of the West!" Selina told him. "She's really more like a Glinda, red hair and everything."

"Okay, I'll go talk to her, if you think it will help," Matthew told her. "Christine was suggesting I do that. She told me that she would have Eva or Sean talk to me, but I really don't want to inconvenience them."

"All right," Selina said. "I'll go see when Amy is available. I really think you'll be glad you did this, though. And if you can't talk to Amy, maybe you can talk to her son-in-law, Jonathan Putnam. He teaches at school, and usually sits with Elijah and our son-in-law Viktor at lunch. He and his wife adopted a child too."

"Was the child a completely different species than they are?" Matthew asked pointedly.

"They thought so," Selina nodded. "Of course, they were proven wrong later, but they could still help."

"And what happened with their child?" Matthew asked. "Did they turn out okay?"

"Yes," Selina nodded. "Her name is Mary and she's married to my grandson Liam. I should get a hold of him and ask if he can come visit Elijah and me sometime. They have a son named after Mary's brother and I haven't spent as much time with him as I should, being his grandmother and all."

"Do you want to do that before you take me to Amy's house?" Matthew asked. "Because I can wait."

"No, I really think we should get this thing nipped in the bud," Selina replied. "It's really no trouble. You can even bring Christine with you if that would make you more comfortable."

"Bring me where?" Christine called, having just come in the house after taking her horse out for a ride. "Where are we going?"

"To visit my friend Amy," Selina called back. "I think she might be able to help Daddy deal with Sarah being a witch, and answer any questions you have, of course."

"But you don't have to come with us since you seem fine with everything," Matthew assured Christine. "I can just go. Do you want to?"

"I'll think about it," Christine told him. "When are you planning on going?"

* * *

Although _she_ had no problem with Sarah being a witch, Christine came with Matthew and Selina and Sarah to talk to Amy anyway. Selina used her key to get into Klaus and Amy's house (she'd gotten it from Amy, not, as she believed Elijah would think, from Klaus) and then they sat at the kitchen table and waited because Amy had told her she was busy doing something and might not be there when they arrived.

"I can't believe we just waltzed right in here," Matthew said. "How can this woman be willing to help us if we basically break into her house?"

"We aren't breaking in if we use a key," Christine replied, bouncing Sarah on her lap.

"Yeah, plus Amy told me that she might not be here when we arrived," Selina assured him. "She knows we're here and it won't bother her at all."

When they'd been there for twenty minutes or so, the door opened and Amy rushed in looking flustered. "Sorry I'm late," she said. "I'm helping Astrid with something for the council and it ran a bit long." She looked Matthew in the eye and took his hand. "You must be Matthew," she said. "It's going to be all right. I can help."

"Do I look _that_ terrified?" Matthew asked.

"Yes," Christine and Selina said, both putting hands on his back. "It's gonna be all right," Christine repeated. "You need to take a deep breath and calm down."

Matthew tried, but then Sarah's body began to fade away and that's when he stood up and nearly strode from the room. Amy quickly righted her, however, and persuaded Matthew to sit down before he fainted.

"I see you're not quite used to your daughter having powers yet," she told him.

"Is it that obvious?" Matthew asked. "I didn't even know she was going to be a witch, so frankly, I think I'm doing pretty well."

"What she's going through now is nothing to be afraid of," Amy told him calmly. "It might _seem_ frightening, but it's something every magical child goes through. Do you have someone at your house that can right things when they happen?"

"Yes," Christine nodded. "My friend Eva and her husband Sean are staying with us."

"Well, isn't that nice?" Amy smiled. "It was a good idea for you to have them come over."

"I didn't know what else to do once she began changing," Christine explained. "I knew it had something to do with being a witch, but I didn't have the power to fix it, so I _had_ to call someone in."

"It would really ease my mind if you could answer this question for me," Matthew told Amy as he looked her directly in the eye. "When the magic shows itself, you know, when she's floating or disappearing or whatever…does that hurt her at all?"

"Not the magical stuff," Amy shook her head. "She's protected from the magic actually causing her harm in the beginning stage. Now, if she were to, say, hit her head on the ceiling while she was levitating because she wasn't caught in time, that would be painful, I guess. But that's a result of the magic, rather than the magic itself. All in all, though the manifestation of powers might be horrifying for someone who doesn't know it's coming, what you see is worse than what your child may be feeling. You might not believe me, but it's true."

"No, I trust you," Matthew reassured her. "You're a witch, so if you don't know anything about this, who would?"

"That's such a good point," Amy told him. "I'm really not trying to lie to you or lead you on. You seem to not have been expecting this at all. Did you adopt Sarah?"

"No, she was…she was a product of when I went to a sperm bank," Christine told Amy. "And since I'm not a witch, her powers must've come from the man who fathered her, although there was no indication of that in his description."

"Oh, dear," Amy sucked in a breath. "Warlocks giving to human sperm banks often leads to trouble. Men have been jailed for that because a magical child foisted on a human couple when they aren't expecting it can give us away, you know? I guess it was lucky that the two of you aren't human. Well, Matthew was at one point, right? But that was a long time ago."

"Yes," Matthew nodded. "It was. Now, are you _positive_ that her magic doesn't hurt her?"

"Yes, I'm positive," Amy repeated. "And by the time a child is a year old, it usually has regulated itself, so you're not gonna have all these shocks going on forever."

"Oh, thank god," Matthew said. "I don't think I could handle her randomly turning into a chicken or something like that for the rest of her life."

"Anything else I can tell you?" Amy asked. "You should probably make an appointment at the hospital too, just to make sure that everything is all right. Just looking at her, it seems like it is, but then again, I'm no doctor."

"All right," Matthew said. "Thank you so much for your help."

"No problem," Amy smiled. Then she wrote her number down on a piece of paper and gave Sarah a hug. "If you need to ask me any more questions, don't hesitate to call because I'll answer. I know that seeing the magic flare up is trying, but with Eva and Sean living at your house with you, I just know you'll get through it!"

Christine, Matthew, and Sarah went out to the car then while Selina stayed behind to talk to Amy a bit more.

"Has your father always been such a worrier?" Amy asked her.

"Well, technically, he only raised me for two months, so in a sense, this is his first real shot at parenthood," Selina explained. "I can't blame him for being nervous, but I bet Christine really wishes she could find a way to calm him down. Thank you so much for your help. I really owe you one."

"It's not a problem, really," Amy assured her. "Are we still going shopping tomorrow?"

"Of course," Selina smiled and gave her a hug. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

* * *

The next day, Matthew decided to do as his daughter suggested and sit with Elijah, Viktor, and Jonathan instead of by himself with a book as he usually did.

"I hope you don't mind if I sit here," he told them. "Can I?"

"Of course," Elijah replied. "Have a seat. Jonathan, Viktor, this is Matthew Warren. He's my father-in-law _and_ my son in law, you know, the one who married Christine. Matthew, Viktor is married to your granddaughter and my daughter Amanda, and Jonathan…he's married to my niece, Amy's daughter Savannah. Selina told me you went to talk to Amy yesterday."

"That I did," Matthew nodded. "She was a big help."

"What did she help you with, if it's not prying too much?" Jonathan asked.

"Well, Christine and I decided we wanted to have a child despite the fact that I'm a made vampire and can't. She went and got fertilized at a sperm bank and just recently, we discovered that our daughter Sarah is a witch. It was a jarring surprise, to say the least, and Christine has taken it much better than I have. And you'd think I'd be old hat at that since my eldest daughter has werewolf blood in her."

"But you knew about what Amelia was the entire time you and she were together, right?" Elijah asked.

"Of course," Matthew nodded. "My brother and I were a couple of the few people outside the immediate family that knew the secret. So if Selina had turned, I would have at least been prepared for it. But this…this with Sarah, I had no reason to see it coming."

"My wife and I didn't know our daughter Mary was a witch until we'd had her for a few years," Jonathan told him. "We adopted her when she was two years old and her parents died in an accident. She was at a daycare center that my wife's sister in law taught at, and when Savannah was volunteering there after a miscarriage, she and Mary bonded. So when she was left alone, Savannah insisted we take her in, so we did, assuming she was just a normal human girl. Then her brother Sean came looking for her, and that's when we found out that she was a witch and had been cursed at birth to become a horrible monster when she turned eighteen. Or was it sixteen? One of those. My god, I feel horrible for not remembering."

"Who can blame you for wanting to forget?" Matthew asked sympathetically. "That's a horrible thing to have happen!"

"Yes," Viktor nodded. "If there's anything we can do, don't hesitate to ask. You and I _are_ family, after all."

Matthew looked around the table at the three men who had offered him so much support. Between them, Amy, his daughter, and his wife, he could deal with whatever Sarah's powers threw at him and truly believe what Amy had said: that whatever her powers made her do, what he was seeing was worse for him than it was Sarah. And after all, _that_ was the most important thing.


	37. Stepping Away For Awhile

"What are you doing?" Selina asked when she came into the kitchen one morning and saw Elijah boxing up all the alcohol and even throwing some of it away. She reached for a bottle of vodka and let out a terrified shriek as Elijah dropped it and it shattered all over the floor. "What did you do that for?" She cried. "I was going to drink that!"

"No, you're not," Elijah shook his head. "I read on the internet that getting rid of alcohol helps with fertility, so I think that we need to curb your drinking."

"But you already _do_ that!" Selina cried irritably. "Do you _really_ want to do this? How could you deprive me of something that I love just so you can have another kid?"

"Look in the freezer," Elijah whispered in her ear after putting his arm around her. "You'll thank me."

Growling at him, Selina opened the freezer and her eyes lit up, as she saw that it was full of ice cream. "I want to ask why you're being so generous, but I won't look a gift horse in the mouth," she said and grabbed a container of chocolate and a spoon.

"I know you don't need to know, but apparently, full-fat dairy foods increase chances of ovulation," Elijah told her. "So, do you forgive me about the alcohol?"

"Maybe," Selina replied, her mouth full of ice cream. "We'll see." To her amazement, Elijah didn't say anything as she finished the first carton in one sitting and then threw it away. "What?" She asked. "No remarks from the peanut gallery about unhealthy eating?" She asked at last.

"Oh, I'm not worried about that," Elijah replied, waving her concern away and giving her a wink. "You'll work all of it off later. Enjoy yourself."

"I don't know whether to feel assured or nervous," Selina told him. "I mean, didn't the witch stuff Gretel full of food when she was plotting to throw her in the oven?"

"And what sort of analogy is that?" Elijah asked. "You know why we're doing this. And it's not because I have any plans to eat you." He paused and smirked. "Well, not in the same way the witch was planning to eat Gretel, anyway."

"Ha-ha," Selina told him. "Aren't you just full of laughs today?"

"Yes," Elijah nodded proudly. "I really think I am." He then took her hand and led her to bed, but for the first time ever that Selina could remember, nothing happened.

"I don't understand," Elijah said, flushing deeply. "This has never happened to me before."

"We can try it again," Selina told him. "I really don't mind. It's not your fault."

So they tried again and ended up having the same result.

"I know you might not like to hear this," Selina told him cautiously. "But maybe…maybe the problem isn't me. Maybe it's _you_. You've given me all these ways to help myself, but what have you done for you?"

Elijah scoffed. "I don't _need_ to do anything else for myself. I already wear boxer shorts. What else can they want from me?"

"I could look up some hints if you want me to," Selina replied.

"No," Elijah replied tersely. "No, thank you." He then stomped off and slammed the bathroom door.

Selina stood silent as she put a t-shirt over her head and then waited quietly.

When Elijah emerged from the bathroom and saw her, he groaned. "Why are you still here? Go away! I just…I need time to think about this!"

"Why don't you go do some hunting?" Selina suggested. "It might help quell your feelings of rage."

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "It just might."

"I know not being able to get it up is a big blow to your manhood, but letting yourself get stressed and angry is only gonna make it worse," Selina told him. "So let's…let's just take a break, you go hunting, and I'll go visit my mother, all right? You can calm down and once you're in a more relaxed state of mind, we'll try again, okay?" She kissed him and gave him a hug. "Don't worry. I don't think any less of you for it."

"I know you mean well," Elijah said through his teeth as he squeezed her hard against himself. "But if you don't let go of me right this instant, you're going to be the first person I go after. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Selina choked out and quickly let him go. "Sorry. Feel better!" She then ran out the door and shut herself in her car, taking a deep breath before she began the drive to Amelia and Andrew's.

* * *

"Would you like some lasagna, dear?" Amelia asked when Selina arrived see how she was doing on her latest knitting project. "Your uncle has become very attached to the cooking channel and made it himself."

"Oh, you know, I would love to, but…I'm full. I've been eating lots of ice cream," Selina told her. "It smells really good, though."

"Why have you been eating lots of ice cream?" Amelia asked curiously. "Is it a way to compensate for my not allowing you many sweets when you were a child?"

"No, actually," Selina shook her head. "It's part of Elijah's rigid fertility scheme for me. It's taken longer than usual for me to get pregnant and apparently, ice cream helps that or something, which is _damn_ lucky for him since he got rid of all my alcohol." Then she remembered why she came. "Can I see your latest knitting project?"

"Sure," Amelia replied. "But don't be expecting anything grand. I've continued with the hat, but it still looks ridiculous." She showed Selina her effort and Selina said. "You're coming along well. I'd wear it."

"Well, you'll have to wait until she makes the next one," Andrew replied, striding into the living room and putting his arms around Amelia. "Because that one is mine."

"Really?" Selina smiled. "That's really sweet."

"Your uncle takes on his first client tomorrow," Amelia told Selina with pride. "Did you know that?"

"No, I didn't know that," Selina smiled and gave her uncle a hug. "I'm so proud of you."

"I'm grateful to my boss of course, but I can't help wondering if she's letting me do this a bit early," Andrew said. "It's been some time since I've been in a court room and I don't want to steer anyone wrong because I'm rusty."

"Your boss seems like she knows what she's doing," Amelia told him. "If she thinks you're ready, than you're ready and you just have to believe it."

"Do _you_ think I'm ready?" Andrew asked her.

"Yeah," Amelia nodded. "I really think I do."

"Me too," Selina nodded and took her place in his arm that Amelia wasn't resting in. They hugged for a little bit and then Andrew said to Selina, "You want some lasagna? I made it myself."

"She says she's too full of ice cream to eat anything else," Amelia told him. "I already asked."

"Did you say you had a room made up for me?" Selina wanted to know. "Can one of you show it to me?"

"I will," Andrew replied. "And I promise that it's not decorated as oddly as the rest of the house."

"You mean, no animal heads?" Selina clarified.

"Exactly," Andrew smiled, his dark eyes bright. "Your mother thought you wouldn't like them."

"Well she had good instincts on that one," Selina replied. "I don't really like to be stared at in the dark while I sleep." She looked around at what she'd gotten instead, a room painted in pale pink with white lace curtains, with a four poster bed that had pink and white hangings and a matching quilt over it, a white desk and chair, and another table, which Selina assumed, was meant for a stereo or a small bookshelf. "I like it," she said with approval. "It's lovely."

"Sorry about all the pink if you don't like that," Andrew said apologetically. "But your mother insisted."

"No, I _do_ like pink," Selina assured him. "That's something about me that she remembered accurately."

"Well, I'm glad you like your room and I hope you come and use it. Don't be a stranger," Andrew told her.

"Oh, I won't," Selina assured him. "Don't worry."

Then Andrew asked, "Have you met your new sister yet? I haven't met her and I was thinking of going over to visit if you wanted to come with me."

"Sure, I'll come," Selina agreed. "I need something to do with myself anyway. Elijah's in a bit of a mood."

They left and soon found themselves in Christine and Matthew's driveway. After parking the car, Selina got out and she and Andrew headed inside to see her father.

* * *

"Hello, Matthew," Andrew said as he and Selina came in and found his brother on the floor with Sarah. "I know you have some strange reason why you haven't invited me to come see my niece, but I've decided to invite myself, all right? And I've brought Selina with me."

"All right," Matthew nodded. It was then that Sarah turned into a bird, but with Matthew's lightning quick vampire reflexes, he kept a grip on her to stop her from flying away before calling for Eva, and feeling very relieved he was finally able to take what she could do in stride, especially when Christine was out and about like she was now.

"Hi, Selina!" Eva greeted Selina cheerfully before turning Sarah back into a baby. "Who is that you have with you?"

"Hello," Selina greeted her. "Nice work you just did there. And this is my uncle Andrew, Daddy's younger brother. Uncle Andrew, this is Eva."

"Thanks," Eva smiled "And nice to meet you, sir." She shook Andrew's hand and then had to run to heed a call of Sean's.

Then Matthew held Sarah so that she was facing his brother. "This is Sarah," he said. "She's a witch."

"Is that so?" Andrew asked. He got down on his knees in front of her and then leaned forward to kiss her gently. "I'm sure she's a good one."

"Don't let Amelia know you did that," Matthew advised him. "She might get jealous."

"I don't think she will," Andrew shook his head. "Not anymore."

"I think that's true," Selina agreed, getting down on the floor next to Andrew. "She's really much better than she used to be."

"Even to you?" Matthew asked.

"Yes," Selina nodded. "Even to me. And I'm as surprised about it as you are. In a good way, of course." Then, as Andrew took Sarah in his arms, Selina couldn't help but ask, "Is she cuter than me when I was a baby?"

"You're both cute," Andrew told her firmly. "Don't make me take sides."

"Oh, all right," Selina told him. "I don't know why I asked that anyway."

"I'm much more attached to you and I probably always will be," Andrew assured her. "Does that make you feel better?"

"Yes," Selina nodded. "It really does."


	38. Who's Your Daddy?

"Look what the cat dragged in," Katherine smirked at Selina as she came into Laura's basement for a haircut. "Why do you leave the house looking like that?"

"I'm not taking the bait," Selina told her. "I won't."

"Puffiness and under-eye circles aren't flattering," Katherine continued. "What would Elijah say if he knew you were such a mess?"

That was it. "I'll tell you what he'd say," Selina told her, getting up really close. "He'd be damn happy about it because it's us being up all night screwing each other that makes me this way. Shame you don't get that anymore. Cause he's _mine_ and not yours."

Katherine chuckled, her dark eyes bright with mischief. "Do you really want to play that game with me?" She asked as she filed her nails. "Cause I could give you the _long_ list of things that Gregory did to me then we were in bed last night. And then I'll tell you what I did to him. Your son is very skilled. Just like Elijah was. For starters…" She was cut off as Selina took a flying leap at her, and when Laura got back from getting more hair dye, she was just in time to pull the scissors away from her mother before Selina had stuck them in Katherine's eye.

"What in the hell is going on here?" Laura asked. "I mean, not that I really need to ask, but seriously, Mom?"

"She started it!" Selina cried. "She baited me the second I came in the room."

"You know what Daddy would say if he were here," Laura told her firmly. "He would tell you not to give her any reason to fight with you, and I agree with him. I don't want my whole business destroyed because the two of you can't get along. Do you understand me?"

"Yes," Katherine mumbled reluctantly. "Sorry."

"Yeah," Selina nodded, a flush coloring her cheeks. "Sorry."

"That's much better," Laura nodded and then urged her mother over to the salon chair. "Now why don't you sit and then we'll get all the extra inches cut off, okay?"

"All right," Selina nodded. "That sounds good."

Once her mother was settled, Laura went over to Katherine's desk and said, "Now would be a good time for you to take off for lunch, don't you think?"

Katherine took her feet off the desk and gave Laura a sour look. "What for?" She asked. "I told your mother I was sorry."

"I know, but I don't want there to be more trouble than there has to be," Laura told her patiently. "You go to lunch now I'll call you once Mom is done. Please?"

"Fine," Katherine said after several seconds. "But when I get back, you're doing my nails, okay?"

"Fine, whatever," Laura huffed. "Just go."

So Katherine left with a smirk on her lips while Laura cut her mother's hair in peace, coming back just as Selina was leaving and sitting down at the manicure table and tapping her fingers on it while watching Laura without blinking.

"Your mother is gone," she said. "It's time for you to keep up your part of the deal."

"Okay, just a minute," Laura snapped. "I'm coming. I have to clean up." She paused. "If you get your ass over here and help me, it'll go faster."

Rolling her eyes, Katherine got up from the table and reluctantly helped Laura sweep up, then sat back down again and put out her hands while Laura got out the cherry red polish.

* * *

Meanwhile, while Selina was starting fights with Katherine, Elijah was in a much calmer state of mind than he previously had been. He'd decided to take Selina's advice and try and calm down, so to do that, as well as fill his need to be around a child, he decided to visit his grandson Charlie. Charlie was the younger son of his daughter Laura, and he and his wife Elizabeth, who was the adopted daughter of his son Gregory, had adopted a boy named Christopher, whom he hadn't seen very much.

The dark-haired boy was a toddler, not a baby, and although Elijah thought he wouldn't remember him, the boy took to him with ease.

"It's so nice to see you again, Grandpa," Charlie told him.

"Yeah, Grandpa," Elizabeth agreed as she watched Elijah and Christopher cuddle together on the sofa. "You need to visit us more often. I demand you do so!"

"I probably _will_ be doing that," Elijah assured her and ruffled Christopher's hair before looking with approval at the tiny black jeans, blue and white striped socks, and white shirt that he wore. "Did you dress him, Elizabeth? He looks wonderful."

"Of course!" Elizabeth, who was the editor of a fashion magazine, nodded as she shook out her dark hair. "We just did an article on a new line of fancy baby wear and they gave me samples that just happened to fit him."

"Well, that's very fortunate," Elijah smiled. "Between your fashion sense and Charlie's, he should be very well-dressed."

"Oh, definitely," Charlie agreed.

Christopher then noticed Elijah's pocket watch and began pulling on it.

"No, Christopher, don't do that," Charlie told him firmly. "It's not a toy."

"Oh, it's fine," Elijah assured him, taking the watch out of his pocket and showing it to the little boy as the sound of ticking filled the air. "It's nice that he seems to enjoy something that's so under-appreciated these days."

"Well, all right," Charlie told him. "As long as you're fine with him messing with it, then I won't complain further."

Just then, Elizabeth's phone rang. She answered it with a less than enthusiastic "Hello, Mom. How's work going?" She paused and said, "What do you _mean_ Grandma tried to poke you in the eye with scissors? What did you say to piss her off?" She paused. "Well, of course if you bait her about you and Daddy she's gonna get mad. Why couldn't you have just left it alone? This really is more your fault than Grandma's." She rolled her eyes and said, "Yes, yes, I know. I'm a horrible daughter who betrayed you and has no considerations for your feelings. Sure, whatever. Go ahead and see Nadia. I don't care. Goodbye."

"Will I have to have a talk with your grandmother when I get home?" Elijah asked, eyebrows up. "I really try to encourage her not to fight with people and she was doing so well, really."

"Well, she and Mom have a very specific history and I think denying Grandma the right to at least yell and scream every time they're in the same room is doing her a disservice," Elizabeth replied. "I just wouldn't bring it up. Pretend you didn't hear anything."

Elijah then nodded and let Christopher off his lap. The little boy ran in the direction of his bedroom and came back with a brown stuffed bear and his favorite book, handing the book to Elijah and motioning to be let back on his lap.

"We'll leave you alone while you two read that," Charlie told Elijah. "We have to run over to Elizabeth's house to pick up some things that we left behind this weekend anyway."

Both Charlie and Elizabeth had had houses and businesses of their own prior to their marriage and instead of picking one house or the other to live in, they'd just kept both and went back and forth between them every so often.

"Is that going to be okay?" Elizabeth asked. "One of us can stay here with you and Christopher if you're not comfortable."

"Oh, no," Elijah shook his head. "You two go. We'll be fine here, I promise."

"All right," Elizabeth told him, giving Christopher a kiss on the head and then kissing Elijah on the cheek. "We'll be back in a jiffy. I promise."

* * *

After having more talks with Jonathan, both he and Matthew decided it was time for Matthew to meet Jonathan's daughter Mary. They went one weekend (with Sarah in tow), and it didn't take long for Matthew to warm up to the kind-hearted witch.

"You're not the first nice, red-headed witch I've met," he told Mary. "Your-" he turned to Jonathan. "What is she again? Her grandmother?"

"Yes," Jonathan nodded.

"Thank you," Matthew nodded before turning back to Mary. "Your grandmother Amy was a great help when it came to helping me adjust to what Sarah can do with her magic."

"And you had no idea that it would happen?" Mary asked. "How strange. I might mention it to my husband because warlocks aren't supposed to give to human sperm banks like that. Do you have any idea who her father is?"

"No," Matthew shook his head. "No, we don't."

"Well, I'm sure that you'll find out soon enough when it becomes clear to the council what's happened," Mary told him.

"I didn't mean for this to be a big fuss," Matthew said quickly. "I don't want to get anyone in trouble."

"It's not your fault," Mary said as she headed to the phone to call her husband while Sarah and little Sean played together on the living room floor.

"Do you think I did a bad thing?" Matthew asked Jonathan.

"No," Jonathan shook his head. "Something like this is more common than you think. It won't be so bad. It's good you brought it to light."

"Okay," Matthew said, although he still felt skeptical. "Whatever you say."

* * *

The next day, Liam came by the house and got some of Sarah's DNA without much protest from the little girl.

"So how will this work?" Matthew asked him.

"Well, I'll give the sample to the doctors and then they'll see what the match is from our database," Liam told him. "You'll finally have your answer about who fathered her, if that's something you've been looking for."

"And what will you do to the man when you find him?" Matthew asked. "How much trouble will he be in?"

"Well, first we have to find out what his intentions were in giving his sample to the sperm bank," Liam told him. "If his intention was to expose the entire magical world, he's going to lose his magic. But if it was just an innocent mistake, and we can verify that, then we'll have to find another way to deal with him."

"Ah," Matthew nodded. "Okay."

After Liam left, they waited a few more days and then they received an envelope with a paper in it that contained the name of Sarah's father. Christine opened it and read it, then folded the paper up and threw it away.

"What's the man's name?" Matthew asked.

"Malachai," Christine got out. "Malachai McCullough."


	39. Getting Over The Storm

"So…who do you think this Malachai McCullough is?" Christine asked Matthew as he gave Sarah her bath one morning and she sat on the toilet (using it as a seat with both lids down, not actually _using it)_ while she read the morning paper to him. "Are you as curious as I am?"

"Well, I think we know he's a very bold man for sure, if he's fathering children in the general human population when he knows he's not supposed to," Matthew replied. "We'll probably never meet him if they find him at all. I don't see why we _need_ to meet him."

"And of course I don't want to," Christine assured him cause he sounded hurt and a little annoyed. "I was only speaking hypothetically. _You_ are Sarah's father for all intents and purposes."

"Damn right," Matthew nodded as Sarah splashed his face and then he sputtered.

That lightened the mood as Christine burst into laughter and handed him a towel. "Would you like me to take over while you put on a new shirt?" She asked.

"I think I'll be all right," Matthew said as he toweled off. "It's just water. It will dry."

"All right," Christine nodded and kissed his hair. "Good luck. If you need anything, don't be afraid to give me a yell."

Once she'd gone, Matthew continued to give Sarah her bath and she continued to splash him. It seemed to be her way of showing that she really enjoyed the water. When he was ready to take her out, he had to call Christine to come and grab her because the tile floor was wet enough that he was afraid he would drop Sarah and hurt her if he tried to walk on his own. But before that, he was able to grab a towel and dry her off, and then, with a smile, she put her small hand on his face and suddenly, he felt dry.

"All right, what do you need me for?" Christine asked as she poked her head in the bathroom. "You need help drying everything off?"

"No, I think I can handle that if you take her and get her dressed," Matthew replied. "And she dried me off, if you can believe it. For once those powers of hers did me some good."

Christine smiled and kissed Sarah's hair. "Did you use your magic to dry your daddy off?" She asked. "That's very nice of you."

"Yes," Matthew nodded. "Considering how wet everything is, it's nice that she was able to at least dry me off."

"Are you sure you don't need my help in here?" Christine asked as Matthew tried to stand up and then slipped on the water and fell to his knees. "Cause I can put Sarah in her crib and then come help you."

"Oh, all right," Matthew said irritably as he tried to get up for the third time and couldn't. "Why don't we do that? It seems to be the only way anything will get done in here."

"All right," Christine nodded. "I'll go get her dressed and let her entertain herself while I come and help you. I'll be back in a few minutes and please don't hurt yourself in the meantime. Can you do that?"

"Yes," Matthew nodded, giving up on trying to move. "Not a problem. I'll just stay right here until you get back."

"Good," Christine nodded and then left him in the bathroom, surrounded by water and then returning soon after so they could get all the water mopped up.

* * *

Later, they got a call from Mary. "I have good news," she said.

"Even _more_ good news than telling us who Sarah's father is?" Christine asked. "Do tell."

"Well, I know you two were pretty specific about Malachai not being arrested, and I have to tell you that he won't be."

"Really?" Christine asked. "Good. Cause he really did us a favor."

"Not that it's purely a gesture of mercy," Mary added. "It's just that he seems to have…disappeared. There's no way we _could_ find him if we wanted to. At least not easily. He probably knows that what he's doing is technically illegal and took the proper precautions beforehand. You have to admire that."

"Yeah," Christine nodded. "I guess you do. I mean, I can't say I'm not a little sorry for the council, but…if they do find him, how will they punish him? They won't kill him, will they?"

"No," Mary assured her. "As it's no longer olden times, they would probably just take his powers, banish him, and make him forget that he ever was a warlock at all, the thought process being that if he wants to live amongst humans so bad, he should without putting the rest of the magical population in danger. But with the precautions he took, it'll take some time to get a location for him, even if Astrid puts all the resources she has on the project, and trust me, Astrid will. With her being in the positing she's in, she really can't afford not to."

* * *

As Amelia graded tests over the lunch hour, she heard a knock on her classroom door. "Come in!" She called. "If you need help with your essay, make it quick cause it's due next period!"

"I don't have any essay," Andrew replied, poking his head in the door and grinning at her. "I just…I thought we might have lunch. The court room was getting a bit stuffy and I had to get away. But if you're busy, I can go-"

"No, no!" Amelia shook her head, pushed her desk chair back and put the pile of papers she was grading back in her desk drawer before going to kiss her husband. "You can stay. I'm glad to see you. I was getting a bit bored myself."

"What essay are the children writing?" He asked.

"It's an essay about how the stories of Washington Irving reflect the state of America at the time the stories were written and helped form the American identity," Amelia explained.

Andrew's face twisted and Amelia said, "What?"

"Why can't you just let children read books?" Andrew asked. "Why do you always need to test them and make them write long boring papers, too?"

"Well, just be grateful _you_ don't have to write the essay," Amelia told him.

"Oh, I am," Andrew assured her. "I finished all that stuff long ago and have no intention to repeat it."

"Not even to go to law school?" Amelia asked. "I mean, I know that your boss says you don't have to because your experience more than makes up for it, but aren't you at least a little curious about seeing what sort of stuff you need to do in order to be a lawyer today? It could really expand the number of places you'll be able to work beyond just getting that job from Astrid because of your notoriety."

"Oh, I know that," Andrew groaned. "My boss and I have talked about my going and it just seems like so much work! Especially that test you have to take at the end. It lasts for _days!_ "

"I know it might seem a bit daunting, but that's what I'm here for," Amelia told him. "I'll help you. I promise."

"All right," Andrew sighed. "I'll go to school to be legitimate in my profession. But I won't like it."

"Oh, it won't be so bad," Amelia encouraged. "I'll make it worth your while, I promise. Plus, think about how happy your father would be that you're actually showing ambition."

"Yes," Andrew nodded. "That's true. I just wish he was here so I could tell him about it."

"There you go!" Amelia said. "Use that as your inspiration for why you want to do this. I think it's a pretty good motivator."

"Yes, I suppose," Andrew nodded. "And now that we've discussed that, can we eat?"

"Sure," Amelia nodded as he handed her a bag lunch. "Sorry. I know you don't like to talk business on an empty stomach." Then she and Andrew ate until he regretfully told her that he had to go back to the courthouse and he'd see her that night when he got home.

* * *

"Are you ready for the full moon tonight?" Selina asked when Elijah came to visit her as she finished scrubbing up some pots and pans before they left at the end of the school day. "We don't have to go out if you don't want to cause I know you've already been out once this week. We can go to Roxie's and you can chain yourself up in the basement, and then I'll go out with everyone else."

"I'm not going to Roxanne's!" Elijah proclaimed. "The man who got me into this mess works there!"

"Oh, Ronan's not as bad as you think!" Selina replied. "He's just like Klaus!"

"That's really not helping your case," Elijah told her.

Then Selina paused. "Maybe we should go ask Klaus to come hunting with us," Selina suggested. "He made friends with somebody and then they had to go away, so according to Amy, Klaus is a bit lonely. Can he come?"

"No, he can't come!" Elijah shook his head. "It's difficult enough for me to hunt when it's just me and you. With my brother around, I wouldn't be able to do anything at all."

"That's just your normal brain talking," Selina pointed out as she gave him a kiss. "Your werewolf brain doesn't register such things."

It took some convincing, but with a deep sigh, Elijah finally relented and they drove to Klaus' house at sundown.

"Well, well," he said when he opened the door. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

"We just wanted to know what you were doing for the full moon," Selina asked. "Are you going over to Roxie's?"

"Why, yes I am," Klaus nodded. "Are you coming also?"

"Of course!" Selina nodded. "Can we just catch a ride with you when you go?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Klaus smiled.

* * *

Although Selina's original plan had been to go out and take full advantage of the full moon, she changed her mind when Elijah told her he would rather be chained up in the basement with the others who didn't wish to go out and hunt.

"All right," she said to his surprise. "I'll come downstairs and stay with you."

"Oh, don't be silly," he told her while being secretly relieved at her choice. "If you want to go, you can go."

"No," Selina said firmly. "Cause if you're not coming, the only one I'd be with is Klaus and I know how uncomfortable it makes you when he and I are alone together, especially in the state we'll be in when the transformation ends. So I'll just stay down here. It won't bother me at all."

She then helped chain him up and dose him with wolfsbane, holding onto him as he transformed and muttering nonsense meant to soothe as she listened to his cries of pain. When he'd transformed all the way, she changed herself too, and they stood together nuzzling each other until it was time to turn back. Then they got on their clothes and went up to have a drink.

"You two need a room for the night?" Roxie asked him. "Or do you think you can make it home?"

"Oh, I think we can make it home, thanks," Elijah told her, even though he looked exhausted.

"Are you sure?" Roxie pressed. "Cause I'd be more than happy to give you a room."

"I think we'll be fine," Selina told her. "But thanks. If I drive, nothing bad will happen."

So after they had a couple more drinks, Selina drove Elijah home and led him to their room to help him to bed.

"No, I can't go to sleep yet," he muttered as she helped him out of his clothes. "We haven't had our fun yet."

"We don't need to do that now," Selina told him firmly. "You need to sleep. Not going hunting and resisting the urges of the transformation wears you out more cause you're not using up all the extra energy."

"Why aren't you worn out then?" Elijah asked.

"Well, the way I transform is different than how you do, plus I've been doing it a lot longer so it doesn't affect me as deeply as it does you. Now it's time for you to rest."

When he was just in his boxers, Selina tucked him in, and kissed him on the cheek as he made some more half-hearted protests, but as she turned the light off and went to watch some TV, she could hear him snoring soundly in the dark, as tired as she'd said, but unwilling to admit it.


	40. Hitting The Books

"You're going to law school?" Matthew asked his brother, his voice full of amazement. "But you hate school! You fought with your teachers for years! You quit after eighth grade, refused to go back, and drove father insane, remember?"

"Yes, but this is different!" Andrew told him. "This time I'll actually have a reason to learn what I'm learning and I'll actually have some idea of what I'm doing before I walk into class!"

"And what about the things you don't know?" Matthew asked. "Don't think I don't have faith in you, but you can't deny that you have a very short attention span. What's the point in preparing yourself to do all this if you're just gonna get bored and leave after a week?"

"He won't leave after a week," Amelia said. "I'm gonna help him. And I'll see if Jake will help too. He's a quick study."

"Well, I wish you the best of luck," Matthew told him. "And Andrew?"

"What?" Andrew asked.

Then, Matthew smiled. "I'm really proud of you for doing this," he told his brother and came over to give him a hug.

"Thank you," Andrew told him. "I'm still nervous, and occasionally I ask myself why the hell I'm doing this, but then I remember that I learned a lot of it on my own, even if it's really out of date now. I know what I'm doing. I'm not just jumping in the water without knowing how to swim." He then turned to smile at Amelia. "Not to mention the fact that I have a _very_ pretty and smart assistant to help me."

"Oh, stop!" Amelia told him and burst into giggles, her cheeks red with embarrassment.

Matthew stood with them awkwardly for a few seconds, feeling immense relief when Christine showed up after having put Sarah down for a nap.

"Hi, you two," she said to Andrew and Amelia. "What brings you here?"

"Andrew came to tell me that he's decided to enroll in law school," Matthew told her. "Isn't that commendable?"

"Oh, definitely," Christine agreed. "In fact, I think it calls for a toast!" She went and got some champagne (even though it was in the middle of the day and Matthew protested…but only slightly), and then they toasted to Andrew's success in law school and that it would help him more successfully navigate his job in the present day.

"So…how long until you start?" Matthew asked as they drank.

"I have some time," Andrew said. "That's why Amelia suggested we go to Jake's for a refresher on the basics. He has lots of books about everything and she told me he's really good at studying, which is very handy cause I think I need to be taught that."

"Yes," Matthew nodded. "You do. Everyone does. Well, I wish you the best of luck. When do you start with Jake?"

"Tomorrow," Amelia replied. "But Jake sent some books for us to look over in the meantime. Very sweet of him, I think."

* * *

"You have the books, I see," Jake remarked when he opened his front door and saw Amelia and Andrew standing on the other side of the door, arms loaded down with heavy tomes that he'd sent over before.

"Yes, we do," Amelia nodded. "And for heaven's sake, Jake, take them! Where are your gentlemanly instincts?" But Jake was too late to reach over and gravity brought down the books and Amelia with them onto the floor.

"I'm sorry, Rosie," Jake apologized and picked up the books, checking his sister for bruises. "I don't know what I was thinking."

"It's all right," Amelia replied, but gave him a side-eye glance. "I suppose I can forgive you."

They headed to the table and set the books down. "Okay," Andrew said. "Where do we start?"

"Property law or contracts," Amelia suggested. "Take your pick. And before you complain, I'm saving you by getting the boring ones out of the way first, all right? You're welcome."

"These certainly _are_ the boring ones," Andrew said. "We have all the time in the world to study them. Why don't we start with the basics of criminal law? That's what I know. I'd be good at that."

"What do you think?" Amelia asked her brother.

"I think the point of this is to help Andrew learn," Jake told her, pushing his sandy blond hair out of his eyes. "I know you want him to learn a certain way, but if he wants to do differently, I think we should let him."

Amelia scoffed. "So I made all these lovely lesson plans for property law and contracts and we might not even get to them today? What a waste of my time."

"Oh, it won't be a waste," Jake assured her. "We'll have plenty of time to look at the lesson plans you worked so hard on."

"We better," Amelia huffed. "I'm trying to teach him exactly how I do in school, but he doesn't seem to be going for it."

"Cause that's the unfortunate thing about the education system," Jake told her. "There's no 'one size fits all' way to educate people, but one is all a lot of schools can handle, meaning many kids are taught in ways that don't help them learn at all. The fact that Andrew knows what will help him learn and is able to tell us is a real boon."

"Yes, and it's not like I'll _never_ want to look over contracts or property law," Andrew added. "It's just…this is the first time I've had to sit down and learn things in a _long_ time and it's a bit overwhelming. I want to start in a place that's familiar to me and once I know that, then I'll venture to more unfamiliar territory."

"All right," Amelia sighed. "Where's the stuff on criminal law anyway? I only kept track of the property law and contracts stuff."

They dug around for a bit and Jake finally found it at the bottom of the stack. "Here are a couple of books," he said. "Crack one open and we'll start from there."

"And don't forget to take notes," Amelia added. "You'll remember things easier that way."

Andrew looked at his well-meaning wife and gave her a kiss. "Well, you would know, seeing as how you're a teacher," he said.

"Of course I have my own ideas about how to take notes, but I'll let you figure that out on your own," She said. "For now, Jake and I will just sit back and let you get reacquainted with these things. You only have to talk to us if you have any questions."

"All right," Andrew nodded, making notes already as he read, his attention only partly on her. "If I need something, I'll let you know."

* * *

"What's the matter with you?" Amelia asked Elijah the next morning as he stumbled to the kitchen table with Selina walking more steadily behind him. "Have you been drinking?"

"No, we just got through another full moon like a champ," Selina replied and kissed Elijah's head.

"'We'?" Amelia asked. "You…you're a werewolf too, Elijah?"

"I wasn't born that way," Elijah sighed. "I was kidnapped and turned by a werewolf who hated my father. Be grateful that your parents ordered you not to turn. It's a terrible experience."

"Well, if it wasn't your choice, of course it would be," Selina replied and gave him a hug before looking at her mother. "Can he have a drink?"

"Do you really think that's the best thing for him?" Amelia asked skeptically. "What about some strong coffee instead?"

"Whatever," Elijah groaned. "Just give me _something_ , please. And then can I have a nap on your sofa? I'm still a little worn out."

"Of course," Amelia nodded as she got the coffee pot going. "It'd probably be the best thing for you anyway."

When she finally set his coffee down, he was nearly asleep on the kitchen table and Selina and Amelia had to work together to prop him up.

"I've never seen the transformation affect anyone like this before," Amelia said to her daughter. "I mean, when it happens to you, you're pretty chipper afterward."

"Well, that's because I accept it and embrace it as part of myself," Selina told her. "If you do that, it just goes easier for you. Elijah hasn't reached that level of acceptance yet, although he's much better about it than he was when he started."

Amelia sat down and said to Elijah, "I know you say you were kidnapped by a man who forced you to change, but you can be honest with me. Was it really my daughter who made you go through this?"

"No, I didn't!" Selina cried, feeling offended as she rose to her feet. "I would never do it to him! I urged our son Gregory to change, but I learned my lesson after that and haven't done it with anyone else."

"Okay, all right," Amelia replied. "I apologize. I was just checking."

After he finished his coffee, Amelia and Selina helped Elijah to bed and then found themselves sitting together at the kitchen table. "I really _am_ sorry," Amelia repeated. "I didn't mean to sound so accusatory."

"Well, you weren't entirely wrong in your suspicions," Selina replied. "I just…what our family went through with the repressing of the werewolf urge and all the resulting misery has made me gung-ho about people accepting it and sometimes turning cause I don't want others to suffer the same way we did. But like I said, after I did it with my son Gregory, I learned that it's not the solution for everyone and foisting my own beliefs on others is bad. I should encourage people to do things because they're actually good for them, not because it's what I think is best."

"That's a hard lesson to learn," Amelia told her. "I'm still learning it."

Selina smiled and went to get herself some coffee. When she sat down again, she said, "Where's Uncle Andrew? Is he still asleep?"

"No, he was up bright and early," Amelia said. "He's thinking about law school, you know, and he went over to your Uncle Jake's to do some brushing up before he officially starts class. After his first session, we both decided that it would be best if I offered emotional support more than teaching support because my specific way of teaching doesn't work for him. I should have known that. He's a more laid-back type than you are."

"But at least you tried," Selina told her. "I'm sure Uncle Andrew is grateful for that. Can I get you some coffee? Sorry I didn't ask sooner."

"Thanks, but you don't have to worry about it," Amelia assured her, rising to her feet. Then she said words Selina had rarely heard from her: "I'll get it myself."


	41. Taking A Breather

"Oh, shit." Selina woke up to the whispered swear and saw Elijah mopping coffee up off their comforter. "I didn't mean to spill it," he explained when she saw. "I wanted to surprise you."

"Well thank you," Selina told him. "And don't worry about the coffee. Did the whole cup spill?"

"No," Elijah shook his head. "Just enough to irritate me. And don't worry, I didn't try to cook. I got you a couple of chocolate croissants from the bakery down the street."

"That's sweet," Selina told him and then turned to look at the clock. "But we don't have time to eat them. "We're late! We're late."

"No, no, no," Elijah shook his head. "Stay right where you are. We're taking the day off today. I've already called."

"Oh?" Selina smiled. "All right. Will it bother you…taking a day off under a stained comforter?"

"Why should it?" Elijah replied simply as he took the cup to refill the coffee he'd spilled. "We have other beds in this house."

"I like that attitude," Selina replied. After she finished her croissants and drank her coffee, she wrote a note so that they wouldn't be disturbed, threw the comforter in the wash, and then she and Elijah ran to the room next door and spent the day in bed, blissfully and without interruption.

* * *

"Did you remember to bring your key?" Viktor asked Amanda. He hadn't heard about why it was that Elijah and Selina had been absent from school and he was concerned.

"Of course I brought my key," Amanda nodded. "Breaking in is wrong." She pulled her key out of her purse and put it in the front door lock. "This was a real good idea you had. I was concerned about Mom and Dad too. It's probably nothing, but it never hurts to check."

They managed to get inside and saw a note on the other side of the door once Amanda had closed it. _We just needed to take the day off. Nothing is wrong. If you want, there are cookies by the stove. Please have some but come nowhere near our bedroom._

"Wow, cookies!" Amanda said and ran to the kitchen. "It's like they knew we were coming!"

"Your father must've told your mother that he and I had made a plan to check up on each other if either of us felt the need," Viktor told her. "Real sweet of her to tell us not to look harder than we needed to, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, it really was," Amanda nodded. "And really, I won't push that. I'm totally okay with just being here for the cookies."

Then, Viktor's phone rang.

"Is it Astrid calling you for moral support again?" Amanda asked. "Poor woman. She helps all those people out and they scold her for it and try to run her out of office."

"Now, now, that hasn't happened _yet,_ " Viktor corrected. "There were just the beginnings of mutterings in that direction. But I think she's straightened things out by now." He then pressed the "call" button. "Astrid, dear, are you all right? Has something gone wrong?"

"No," Astrid told him. "Things have calmed down for the time being, but I'm out of my mind thinking that the situation might change. Do you think I screwed up? Was I too nice to people? I know I might have technically done things I shouldn't have, but…I had good intentions!"

"You don't have to justify yourself to me, dear," Viktor told her. "I understand. People like us don't always win. Your mother always thought I was too soft too. It wasn't about me being human at all."

"You're not soft!" Astrid said, feeling offended, and not really liking her mother. "She was wrong!"

"Well, of course she was, but what's the point in dwelling on that now?" Viktor asked.

"Can I have the phone?" Amanda asked.

"Sure," Viktor replied. He handed it to her and she didn't miss a beat.

"Hi, Astrid," she said. "Still feeling bad? You and Alistair should come to our house for the night. It'll give you a change of scenery, and it's been a while since we've seen you anyway."

"That's so sweet!" Astrid told her. "I would love to. After the fiasco with your Uncle Kol, I need a break. Did you know there are still plenty of people who think I was the one that gave him his powers back, even though it's clear that it wasn't me at all?"

"Bummer!" Amanda cried sympathetically. "We're at my parents' house now. You want me to steal some baked goods so they'll be at the house when you come tonight?"

"Yes, please," Astrid replied. "That would be lovely. What time should we come over?"

Amanda took the phone away from her ear and looked at her husband. "Astrid wants to know what time she and Alistair should come over. Is it okay that I invited them?"

"Of course," Viktor nodded. "I don't mind. Tell them six this evening."

"Is six this evening all right?" Amanda asked Astrid. "Good. See you then." She ended the call just in time for her mother to come in and join them.

"Hi, there," she said. "How was school today, Viktor? Did we miss anything good?"

"Fire drill," Viktor shrugged. "That was about it. Are you two all right? That's what we came here to check on."

"We're fine," Selina nodded. "We just…needed some time off. A mental health day. We'll be back in school tomorrow."

"Good," Viktor nodded. "Cause all the brownies are gone from the teacher's lounge and if we don't get more soon, there might be a riot."

"Well, we wouldn't want that," Selina told him. "I'll be sure to bring them tomorrow, along with my charming personality."

"And can I take the rest of the cookies and bring them home with me for when Astrid and Alistair come over for dinner tonight?" Amanda asked. "I kind of promised her that I would."

"Go ahead," Selina assured her. "I can always make more." She then went and warned Elijah to get dressed and then once he had, he and Viktor talked about school while Selina and Amanda went to make more cookies so that when Amanda saw Astrid that night, she'd have something fresh to serve her.

* * *

"Are you sure they'll let us bring Sarah into the bar?" Matthew asked. "Cause if they won't, I can always stay outside with her."

"Don't worry about it," Christine assured him. "Roxie herself was running around here as a kid. And her children were raised upstairs. As long as I'm not feeding her alcohol, which I would never do anyway, there's no reason for us not to bring her in."

"But what about your mother?" Matthew asked. "Doesn't she come by here often? No offense, but I really don't know if I want Sarah exposed to-"

"Stay here," Christine ordered. "I'll be back in a minute." She quickly strode into the bar and asked Ronan if her mother was around and when she had ascertained that the bar was Renee-free, she strode back out and told Matthew to bring their daughter in.

This time, Matthew didn't hesitate. He brought Sarah into the bar, knowing that if Roxie had anything against it, Christine would have said something. "Hey, Ronan!" He greeted the bartender brightly as he sat on a bar stool with Sarah on his lip. "This is Sarah. She has magical powers."

"How did that work out?" Ronan asked. "Neither you nor Christine do. I know that much."

"It was a freak thing with the donor that we used," Matthew told him. "But we're getting used to it now."

"Ah," Ronan nodded in an easy-going way reminiscent of his son, Klaus. "Okay. What will you have to drink? The usual?"

"I don't know if I should have any alcohol since I'm holding on to Sarah," Matthew told him. "I don't want her to accidentally ingest it."

"I think you'll be fine," Christine told him. "Go ahead and have a drink of you want one."

But it turned out to be much more difficult than he imagined. Every time he put the beer bottle down on the counter, Sarah would stare at it intently and send it flying backwards off the bar so it would crash to the floor and spill.

"Now, you stop that," Matthew told her firmly as he apologized to Ronan once again. "Or else I'll have you sit with your mother."

But when the fourth bottle began to shake, Christine quickly came over to grab her before that bottle was spilled too. "Now you get to sit with me," she told her daughter. "Let's let your daddy have his drinks in peace, huh?" She then called out to Eva, who had just come in. "Eva, sit with us!"

Eva got a strawberry wine cooler and then came to sit across from Christine, looking in amazement at Matthew happily sitting at the bar.

"I find it so interesting that Matthew likes it here," she commented. "I would have thought this place would be too rough and tumble for him."

"No, not really," Christine shook her head. "This is actually a very good place for him. Just somewhere where he can relax, watch sports, have a drink. And everyone really seems to like him even though he's not a werewolf."

"Well, how could you not like him?" Eva asked. "He's very likable. So…what else is going on that you haven't told me about? Anything?"

"Matthew's brother Andrew is about to start law school," Christine said. "And you know about Sarah's powers because you live with us…thank you so much for your help, by the way. It's made things so much easier, especially for Matthew."

"Good," Eva nodded. "That's what I was hoping it would do. And it's good for Sean too because it distracts him from thinking about his cousin Kai, and that's something he really needs."

"Do Sean and Kai still hate each other?" Christine asked.

"No, thankfully," Eva told her. "They've reached a détente now. And their uncle is visiting Kai and Victoria so Sean is gonna go over to see him, even though they weren't as close as his uncle and Kai were." She smiled. "He sounds fascinating, the uncle. I'm gonna see if I can have Sean take me to visit him. Or if I can go by myself, cause there's still a few months before Sarah's powers even out so you'll need Sean or me at home with you." Her blue eyes were shining now. "He's supposedly had adventures all over the world and I want to hear them. So different from the ones I hear from Grandpa Klaus and Grandpa Mikael. I hear those over and over again and they're beginning to get tiresome."

"I _wish_ Dad would tell _me_ exciting stories about the past," Christine said ruefully.

"He _did_!" Eva reminded her. "In class, remember? When he was helping Torquemada or fighting in the Crusades to avoid the Plague, or…"

"But we were told those stories as part of lectures in school," Christine reminded her as Sarah began squirming and reaching out for Eva. "That's different."

"Ah," Eva nodded. "All right, I see. I think she needs to have a little change of scenery. I'll go take her to the game room and you and Sean can chill in here."

"All right," Christine nodded. "Just don't give her anything that you have to drink. I remember the story from when you were little and you got hammered at the Council's fall party."

"It was not my fault that no one was watching the table with the hard cider and the tables were low enough that a crafty four-year-old could reach the tables and finish two plastic cups full before anyone noticed," Eva told her. "But I promise I'll be much more responsible."

"All right," Christine nodded as she got up to sit at the bar next to Matthew. "Good luck!"


	42. A Night With Uncle

"Would you mind if I brought someone to visit?" Sean asked Christine.

"That uncle of yours that Eva is so excited to meet?" Christine asked knowingly. "Sure, bring him. I don't mind at all. From the sound of him, Matthew might like him too."

"How do you know about my uncle?" Sean asked.

"Eva told me about him at the bar the other day," Christine said. "She said he's had lots of adventures."

"Oh, yeah," Sean nodded. "Travels all over the world. He's always been partial to Kai, though. Probably because Aunt Edele treated them both like garbage and Kai didn't have anyone else really until he met Victoria."

"So are you going to bring him or not?"

"Well, since you said I could, why wouldn't I?" Sean asked with a smile. "And I'll see if I can get Mary to give me Junior for the evening so Sarah will have someone to play with, too."

"That is so sweet!" Christine told him. "I can't wait."

* * *

"Okay, here are your books and your papers and pens and pencils, and do you have your notes that you did for the reading? They're going to ask you about that, you know," Amelia told Andrew as he got ready to go to his first day of class.

"Yes, I do know, but thank you for reminding me," Andrew replied, shifting the stuff a little bit so his arms didn't hurt so much.

"And I also got you some breakfast," Amelia stuck a jelly-filled doughnut in his mouth, causing some of the jelly to squirt on the cover of the top book.

Huffing, she grabbed a napkin and wiped it off, then took Andrew by the arm, leading him out to the car so he could throw his books and things in the back and then get in the passenger's seat beside her.

"I'm really proud of you for doing this," she told him.

"Thank you," he said after taking a bite of the doughnut and swallowing. "And promise me you'll find something to do with yourself when I'm not home. That's very important, even though your mother always taught you otherwise."

"Don't worry," Amelia told him. "I will. I have classes to teach, so I'll be fine."

"Good," Andrew told her. "That's something I'm glad to hear."

She drove him to class then and dropped him off, waving goodbye like an eager parent dropping their child off on the first day of kindergarten. After he was gone, she sat there and took deep breaths, and then when she'd pulled herself together, she drove to school and prepared to teach for the day.

* * *

Later, at lunch, she took a seat next to her daughter. "Your uncle started law school today," she said. "His boss offered to pick him up after his classes were over and bring him straight to work cause she knew I'd be busy here."

"Well, that's very nice," Selina said. "You're not jealous of his boss, are you?"

"No, I've met her and it seems like she's keenly aware that I'm the wife and she has no place making moves on him," Amelia told her. "I'm choosing to have faith in your uncle. I trust him. The person I'm worried about most when it comes to this law school business is me."

"What do you mean by that?" Selina asked. "Is it anything I can help you with?"

"If you want to, I would appreciate some suggestions," Amelia nodded. "When he left this morning, your uncle told me that he would encourage me to find ways to amuse myself outside of him, even though my mother always told me that's something I should never do because it takes focus off my husband and that's bad. You're good at finding hobbies. What do you think I should do?"

"I can't really tell you that," Selina told her. "What is it that you _like_ to do? You teach literature. Is there a book you've always wanted to sit down and read but have never had the time? You can start there."

"Well, I feel like a complete idiot for not thinking of that!" Amelia said with a smile. "Cause I _do_ have a list, you know. Thank you so much!"

"Hey, don't beat yourself up," Selina shrugged off the compliment. "Like you say, you're not much used to thinking of these things yourself. It's a process. Do you want to have like, a book club or something where we read the same book and talk about it? It could be a way to ease yourself into the whole 'doing things for yourself'. Or do you just want to read on your own?"

"No, I think reading the same book would be a good bonding experience," Amelia agreed. "I have one question, though: Is there a book that we both would like?"

"I don't know," Selina said. "I mean, it might take some looking cause I don't think you'd like my _Nancy Drew_ collection or _The Feminine Mystique_ , at least not to begin with. Maybe we could try one of my Gothic novels. I'd love to hear your thoughts on _Jane Eyre_."

"I heard a lot about that book when it came out, but it seemed like a bit much," Amelia told her. "However, since it was too much then, it's probably pretty tame now. I'll give it shot."

"I think you'll like it," Selina replied. "It's gone down as one of the earlier examples of feminist literature, but not so much that you'd be horrified by the things she does. She's not radical, just very self-aware and independent, mostly cause she has no other way to survive."

"I can't wait to read it," Amelia told her. "Do you have more than one copy?"

"Oh, yes," Selina nodded. "I think I have three or four cause I go through the paperback versions like you wouldn't believe. Tell me when you want to get started and if you want to meet at my house or yours, and that's what we'll do. I really can't wait to start this."

"Yes," Amelia smiled. "Neither can I."

* * *

"Well, hello!" Christine cried when she opened the door and saw Sean and his uncle on the other side. "I'm Christine and this is Sarah," she lifted her daughter up a little, her tiny hands reaching up toward the visitors. "She especially likes meeting new people."

"She seems much different from Kai's daughter, Molly," Malachai replied as he held on to Sarah and she leaned against him, looking content and not saying a word. "Definitely not as aggressive."

"Yeah, you would think that she would be, but she's really sedate. She must've learned that from her daddy. She sure didn't learn it from me. And it's lovely to meet you, sir," Christine told him. "Why don't you come in and sit down? Can I get you a drink?"

"Oh, please," Malachai told her. "You can call me by name. We're all friends here."

"And just to warn you about Eva," Sean said to his uncle, "she decided to dress up to meet you and that means she'll probably wear her tiara. Yes, it's real, and makes her look like a charmingly nuts ballerina, but she's really a very wonderful person once you get used to her."

"Are you home yet, baby?" Eva called.

"Yes," Sean called back. "Why don't you come out and meet my uncle, Princess?"

"Coming!" Eva called.

"Brace yourself," Sean told his uncle. "Don't try and look too shocked."

But when Eva appeared, apart from the tiara that was perched atop her highly piled curly blonde hair, she looked very elegant in a slinky blue dress and silver jewelry. Sean put his nephew down on the quilt that was spread out on the floor to take Eva in his arms for a quick kiss before Eva turned her attention to his uncle. "Hello," she said to Malachai. "I'm Eva."

"Yes, yes you are," Malachai replied with a smile as he shook her hand. "You know, I never thought Sean would go for someone like you. I always pictured him with a stuffy librarian type."

"Well, I had to work on him for a little bit before he admitted his feelings, but ever since he has, we've been getting along famously!" Eva told him. "Why don't you have a seat, and I'll get you something to drink?"

"All right, I think I'll have some red wine if you have it. It really doesn't matter what kind." Malachai nodded. He was still holding on to Sarah as he sat down and when Eva brought him his drink, Christine stood up quickly. "Here, let me take her," she said quickly. "Sarah has a tendency to make things with alcohol in them explode, and I wouldn't want that to happen to you."

Sarah gave her mother a very hurt look and reached for Malachai, but her attention was distracted by playing with baby Sean, which was a great relief for Christine.

"It was such a good idea that you had to bring your nephew with you," Christine told Sean. "It gives Sarah something to do with herself. When she gets bored, she tends to start up a fuss."

"I'm glad to help," Sean replied. "Where's Matthew this evening?"

"Poker night with some of his hunting buddies," Christine replied. "It was his friend Roy's turn to host, but he should be back any minute."

She was proven correct when Matthew came into the house literally a few seconds later. "Hey, everyone!" He called out. "Is this the night that Sean's uncle comes to visit?"

"Yes," Christine nodded as he came in. "Matthew, this is Malachai. Malachai, this is my husband Matthew. He teaches American history at a school made by the Council for children of mixed supernatural marriages."

"Well, isn't that fulfilling?" Malachai replied. "Makes me feel bad about all the adventuring I do."

"Oh, you don't have to feel bad," Matthew told him. "I promise."

"Is that a buffalo skull by the fireplace?" Malachai asked, pointing to Charlie the skull.

"Yeah, I bought him off the internet as a conversation piece and clearly my efforts have paid off," Matthew nodded.

Baby Sean let out a cry as Sarah's attention was turned from him and she began crawling toward her father.

"It's okay," Sean said and picked his nephew up. "I know you like it when Sarah pays attention to you, but sometimes you have to let her show interest in other people too, all right?"

Baby Sean didn't seem to like that idea, but he calmed down anyway and spent the rest of the night in Sean's lap, shooting whoever held onto Sarah a dirty look.


	43. Struggling With The Future

"I'm so glad you agreed to do this book club thing with me," Selina told her mother as they sat together on the sofa in the living room with books and cups of coffee. "I think it's nice, us just bonding like this."

"You know, it really is," Amelia nodded. "I'm only sorry it took so long."

"Yeah, me too," Selina replied. "What's Uncle Andrew doing today?"

"He and his office people are out having some big day because they won their last case," Amelia told her. "It's so nice that he's making friends. Speaking of, I promise I'll start meeting new people so you don't have to be my source of entertainment all the time."

"Oh, no!" Selina told her. "It's all right, I promise! I like having fun with you. It's a nice change."

"Yes," Amelia nodded. "I bet it really is for you, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Selina breathed. "I don't think we need to talk about why, though. It's just…there's no point."

"I agree," Amelia replied. "Things went on in my life that made it difficult for me to be the mother you deserved and while it doesn't excuse what I did, or give you what you didn't get, it's an explanation at the very least. And you seem to have turned out really well, in spite of everything."

"Thank you," Selina told her. "I really try."

They then started the book, reading about Jane Eyre and the terrible time she had with her uncle's family, the Reeds, who begrudgingly agreed to keep her at their house because her parents were dead and she had nowhere else to go.

"What a terrible life she leads," Amelia said, sniffling a little. "None of what's happened in Jane's life is her fault, yet her aunt Sarah blames her anyway." She shut the book and looked at her daughter. "Is that why you like this book?" She asked. "Cause you identify with Jane, growing up in a family where no one really cares about her?"

Selina sighed. "Can we just…can we just read the book, please? If you make me answer that question, it's going to suck all the fun out of this. And you and I know that growing up with Granny and Granddaddy Lockwood wasn't a picnic for either of us, was it? I wasn't the only one things sucked for." She paused. "Why is it that every time you and I are in a room together, stuff like this pours out of us?"

"Cause I have a lot to apologize for," Amelia replied. "And I want to get it out of the way."

"Well, can we do a little bit at a time, then?" Selina asked. "And now that you've done your apologies for the day, which I accept, of course, can we just get back to the book?"

"No," Amelia shook her head. "I'm no longer in the mood for the book. Let's talk about something else instead. Any other ideas about what I should do to occupy my time while your uncle is at work and I'm not teaching?"

"Well, all the time you were human, did you ever sit there and make a list of things you could have done if it wasn't for Granny's stupid rules?" Selina asked. "Didn't you have goals for yourself even if you knew it would be highly unlikely that you'd actually be able to accomplish them because of your place in society as a woman? Think about that list and go from there. I can't think of everything for you."

"You're right," Amelia nodded and leafed through the book again. "I can think of these things myself. I'm capable. I'll give it a shot. And if I can't think of anything, I'm sure your uncle will have some ideas."

"There you go!" Selina replied. "I bet he will."

* * *

"Dare I ask how things went with you and your mother's book club today?" Elijah asked later. "I want to get that out of the way now so I don't ask it when we're kissing or something and spoil the mood."

"It started out promisingly, but then Mama thought that because of Jane Eyre's crappy family, my picking the book was some backhanded way of complaining about how terrible my own childhood was and it spoiled the mood completely," Selina sighed. "It's like we can never stay completely in the present. The past always has to pop up and say, 'Here I am! Remember me and how much I sucked'?" She sighed. "And obviously, that doesn't help anything."

"Well, at least you're trying," Elijah told her. "And now that she's with your uncle, you don't have to think about it, and can focus on better things instead."

Selina smiled. "Like you in jeans and nothing else? Or just nothing?"

"Exactly," Elijah smiled. "Did you eat your ice cream today?"

"Well, duh," Selina assured him. "And I haven't been taking my pills, either. So we're really throwing all caution to the wind here."

"Yes," Elijah nodded as they both undressed and headed to bed, kissing each other deeply as their hands made tracks over each other's warm bodies, and he even let her bite him and slowly lick the blood up before her legs parted and he slipped inside her with a quick thrust. "Yes, we are, and I hope that it comes to something sometime."

* * *

"My god, what a week!" Andrew groaned as he collapsed on the sofa on the Friday of his first week at work. "I know you probably want to go out tonight, Amelia, but I can't. I'm just too tired."

"No, of course!" Amelia replied. "I understand. That's why I'm gonna invite Selina over, we're gonna make dinner for you, and then we're all gonna sit down and watch a movie, okay?"

"Yes," Andrew nodded. "That sounds wonderful!"

When Selina came by a few minutes later, she had a sheaf of Chinese takeout menus in her hand. "If you wanna have a little adventure, we can order in. It's even less work."

"Sounds great," Amelia replied and took the menus over to Andrew. "But I don't recognize any of this food."

"That's the 'adventure' part of all of this," Selina explained as her mom and uncle sat together with their arms around each other perusing the menu. "Just don't order anything with 'dynamite hot' or 'firecracker' next to it. It means it's spicy and it will kill you."

"Good to know," Andrew replied, standing up. "I'm not up to feeling that daring yet."

"You take a seat," Amelia told him. "You've been working all week and you shouldn't have to order your own dinner when we can do it. Plus, you're not so experienced with phones yet."

"All right," Andrew replied. "Whatever. And I have no clue what any of the stuff on the menu is, so just order a bunch of things and I'll try them."

"That sounds like a marvelous idea!" Amelia told her daughter. "It'll help me start on my way to being a more adventurous person."

"All right," Selina nodded and picked a menu, going to the phone to order. "And you can trust me. I won't order anything bad, I promise."

Despite Amelia wanting to be adventurous, Selina decided to go the familiar route, ordering noodles, chicken fried rice, and pot stickers, along with some vegetable stir fry.

To her surprise, it was her uncle rather than her mother who took to the vegetables. "I hope you don't want me to share," he said through a full mouth. "Cause I want all of this."

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Amelia told him and then ate a spoonful of friend rice. "We don't want you to choke.

When the food was all gone and the trash was piled high with food containers, Selina brought out the fortune cookies.

"We're not supposed to eat the paper, are we?" Andrew asked.

"No, that's your fortune," Selina explained. "It tells your future."

"Oh, that's ridiculous," Amelia scoffed and refused to have a cookie.

"Well, it's not real," Selina told her. "It's just for fun. But if you don't want yours, I'll take two."

"No, I'll take one, I guess," Amelia replied. She pulled her fortune out and it said, "You will ride on a boat with someone you love and make friends with a frog."

"Where am I gonna ride a boat?" Amelia asked. "Andrew, do we have plans to go on any boats? And what is this nonsense about being friends with frogs? Frogs are disgusting!"

"Mine says I'm going to have great success at work, and that something will happen to give me a whole new start," Andrew said. "Isn't that nice?"

"Now see, that is a worthwhile fortune," Amelia said. "It actually makes sense. Why can't they all be that way?"

"Well, who knows about the logic of people from the Orient?" Andrew replied. "They're all very mysterious, aren't they? We can't be expected to figure it all out."

"These weren't actually made in China," Selina replied. "I think the factory is in California or something."

"Oh," Andrew said. "Never mind then. What does your fortune say, Selina?"

"It talks about how my family will soon be expanding," Selina replied. "Really fortunate, since Elijah's ready to have another kid."

"Nothing yet on that front?" Amelia asked.

"No," Selina shook her head. "But at least the process is fun."

"Yes," Andrew nodded and grabbed Amelia, giving her a deep kiss. "It sure is."

* * *

The next night, Andrew was rested enough to take Amelia out. They went to a carnival that was in town for the night. They went on a few rides and then headed for the midway.

"Test your strength!" Amelia urged. "If you get it, can I have the toy?"

"Of course," Andrew nodded. "If you win me something at the ring toss and try one of those snow cones at that booth over there with me."

"Sure," Amelia nodded. "I would love to."

"Great!" Andrew nodded. So they headed to the game and Andrew picked up the hammer, hitting the mark and getting the bell to ring easily. He won Amelia a widely smiling toy frog and after she took possession if it, they headed for the snow cone stand, wondering which flavor to try, Amelia resisting the urge to call her daughter and ask what flavors were good beforehand.

"I'm glad you like your frog," Andrew told her. "Do you think that's what your fortune meant when it said you would make friends with one? That's just uncanny!"

"It's not uncanny," Amelia said, holding the frog against her body. "You remembered the fortune and that's why you picked that stuffed animal. It's a coincidence."

"Well, you're welcome," Andrew replied. Then he got a grape snow cone and Amelia got a cherry one. He ate his too fast and then he and Amelia had to sit on a bench while he recovered from brain freeze. And then they went on a few rides (including the tunnel of love, even though Andrew said nothing about the boat part of the fortune being fulfilled) and stayed for the end of the day fireworks before heading home.

"Did you have a good time in spite of the frog business?" He asked her.

"I had a _great_ time, and I love my frog," Amelia told him and gave him a kiss. "I'm sorry I was so snippy about the frog, I just…I don't like fortune telling and stuff like that. It makes me uncomfortable."

"Ah," Andrew nodded. "All right. Would you like to head straight to bed, or stay up a bit longer?"

"I promised Selina I would call her and tell her how things went at the carnival, but I'll join you in bed after," Amelia assured him. When she came back to the room, she found Andrew naked in bed with a smirk on his face.

"What kept you?" He asked.

"Oh, for the love of god, Andrew!" Amelia cried out, her hands immediately going over her eyes for a moment before she decided she was overdoing it and peeking through her fingers. "Was it really necessary for you to be completely naked right off the bat?"

"Yes it was," Andrew nodded, getting out of bed to come take her in his arms. "How else do you suppose we'll accomplish intimacy?"

"Well, I'm not saying I don't appreciate you being naked, but…can you do it a bit slower next time?" Amelia asked, looking dazed. But soon her thoughts were elsewhere as Andrew wasted no time undressing her and getting her to bed, his lips all over her body as she lay back, eyes closed, and let him touch her, taking in every sensation that came with his fingers settling on her skin.

She let out a whimper and reached up to put her arms around his neck, the scruff on his face scratching against her cheek as she wrapped her legs around his waist. Then Andrew moved his face over a bit and they were kissing one another deeply, their fingers in each other's hair, and Amelia trying not to blush as she felt Andrew's hands cup her bottom and squeeze.

"You're beautiful," he whispered in her ear. "You're beautiful."

She wanted to say something along the same lines to him as she looked into his warm brown eyes, but all she could get out was "Oh, damn!" as her legs parted and he came inside her with a few deep thrusts that caused her to let out a cry and be glad she was gripping him tightly.


	44. Pride And Prejudice

"So…how did the book club go?" Andrew asked as he sat at the kitchen table opposite Selina and Amelia. "Did it go well? Did you have fun bonding?"

"Well, I think it's safe to say that we had a very inauspicious beginning," Amelia replied.

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "It means it didn't go well."

"I could have figured that out from the tone of your voice," Andrew replied. "What went wrong? Did you two get in a fight again?"

"No, quite the opposite, actually," Amelia said. "We were reading this book, and the main character starts out in a family where everyone treats her like crap, which made me wonder if Selina liked it cause she could relate, which led to apologies and thinking about everything I did wrong, and…I know that wasn't the point, but it happened anyway!"

"Would it help if Jake or I were there at your next book club?" Andrew asked.

"Oh, I wouldn't do that to you, even though it's a very sweet offer," Amelia told him. "I don't think you'd enjoy yourself."

"Well, right now, it doesn't sound like the two of you really are either," Andrew pointed out.

Selina and Amelia looked at one another for a long moment and then Amelia said, "I think we should just look at this as a temporary misstep, get up, and try again. We can only go up from here, can't we?"

"Exactly," Selina nodded. "And as long as we stay away from my copy of _Frankenstein_ , we'll never have another problem."

" _Frankenstein_?" Amelia asked. "What would the problem be with that? It's just a horror story about a zombie!"

A zombie who was rejected by his father figure, and grew to hate all humanity cause everyone viewed him with fear and suspicion instead of love, including said father-figure," Selina added. "You should see all the notes in my copy because of _that_ summary."

Amelia sighed. "I suppose if you look at it that way, that isn't something we should be reading either. Don't you have any _happy_ books? Anything light and sweet and romantic?"

"Sorry," Selina apologized. "That's just not the sort of thing that I'm drawn to. But if…if _you'd_ like to pick a book that would appeal to you, then we can read that and maybe things will turn out better."

"All right, that sounds good," Amelia agreed. "And you're serious about me picking whatever I want? No complaints or anything when you see what it is that I've chosen?"

"None," Selina swore. "I promise."

"All right," Amelia nodded, a smile on her face. "With those new parameters, I'll see what I can do."

"Now this is nice," Andrew smiled. "I like the two of you working together like this."

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "Me too."

* * *

Though Selina had no regrets about letting her mother pick the book they would read since _Jane Eyre_ hadn't worked out, she couldn't deny that she was a bit apprehensive about the book her mother would pick. Perhaps it had been because she hadn't led a very romantic life, or seen many examples of what good, healthy relationships were, but books that were sappy and happy and romantic just didn't have much appeal for her.

Elijah noticed her nervousness as she brought her shaking coffee cup up to her lips. "Are you thinking you and your mother will fight tonight when she comes over for book club? What new book did you pick?"

"I didn't pick it," Selina told him. "I told her she could, and now I'm nervous as hell! We don't like the same things! What if she picks something horrible and boring? _Then_ what do I do?"

"You just smile, get through it, and tell yourself that you're experiencing something new," Elijah replied. "Remember, this getting along with your mother is a two-way street and can't just be all about you."

"And why the hell not?" Selina wanted to know. "My whole human life, I was just part of her 'Look at me' parade, and everything we did was what _she_ wanted. Focused on _her_ neuroses, _her_ depression, her doing what she needed to do to keep up the façade of being the perfect wife even though my stepfather was insane and a criminal."

"If you feel this strongly about it, why did you let her pick the book?" Elijah asked.

"Cause she'd either hate all my books or they would crush her soul," Selina replied. "It's just a shame that I can say the same about the stuff that's on _her_ book shelf!"

"And do you actually _know_ what's on her bookshelf?" Elijah asked. "Or are you just getting yourself all worked up, possibly for nothing?"

"Maybe," Selina huffed, resting her chin on her hands. "It's possible."

"Well, there you go," Elijah shrugged. "Maybe you can ask her at school what book she's chosen and that will help relieve your mind."

"Maybe," Selina told him. "We'll see."

* * *

Taking Elijah's advice, she slipped into one of Amelia's classes on her break and took a seat in the back to watch the lecture, which was on _Pride and Prejudice_ of all things. Selina had never been too fond of the book, because the way it was written made it really hard to figure out when things were supposed to be funny, and she found Mr. Darcy kind of annoying, but at the same time, Mr. Collins was delightfully buffoonish, as was Mrs. Bennet, And she found Lizzie tolerable, so it was kind of a mixed bag for her.

After the class was over and everyone had left, Selina went up to her mother's desk. "I liked the lecture," she said.

"You did?" Amelia smiled. "I'm glad. You wouldn't mind if we read this for our book club, would you? It's one of my favorite novels and I believe Elizabeth is a strong enough protagonist to keep your interest."

"Yeah, she's all right," Selina agreed. "But Kitty…my _god_ , how silly is she? Running off with that Wickham guy when everyone told her not to."

"That wasn't Kitty," her mother corrected. "It was Lydia."

"Oh," Selina nodded. "Right. There are enough sisters that I get them mixed up sometimes."

"That's all right," Amelia assured her. "I can explain things to you as often as you need. It doesn't matter to me. I'm pleased to see that you've read this before. That'll mean we can actually have deep conversations about it."

"I've read it a few times," Selina conceded. "But I like the movie versions better. Seeing the characters and hearing them say the lines the way they're supposed to be said really helps me understand the story in a way that Ms. Austen's own writing doesn't."

"Well, maybe we can watch one of the movie versions too, then," Amelia told her. "Perhaps the one with Colin Firth. That one's always delightful."

"And then you can watch _Bridget Jones_ with me!" Selina smiled. "It's a bit more modern take on the story, but it's basically the same."

"Wonderful," Amelia replied. "Can't wait. And maybe you could bake something? Cookies or brownies would be lovely."

"Oh, don't worry about that," Selina assured her. "I'm way ahead of you there."

* * *

"Brownies!" Elijah cried and grabbed for one. "Can I have one?"

"Sure," Selina replied as she backed away from the pan that was cooling. "But be careful. They're still a little hot. And just have _one_ ; they're for when Mama comes over for book club in an hour or so."

"Do you know what book she picked?" Elijah asked. "Are you going to hate it?"

"Well, it's not a book I read a lot, but it's not horrible," Selina admitted.

"There you go," Elijah replied. "I knew it wouldn't be as bad as you thought. What is it?"

" _Pride and Prejudice,"_ Selina told him. "She's teaching it in class now and thought we could have a good discussion about it too. I'll try not to go on too long of a tirade about how much Mr. Darcy irritates me cause I don't think she'd appreciate that."

"Oh, he's really not that bad," Elijah frowned. "Certainly not bad enough to warrant a long tirade."

"How can you say that?" Selina asked. "He's a total jerk to her forever just cause he has more money! He's judgmental and pompous and stupid, and…"

"…And if he had a chair in the living room that was left unattended, you'd probably put a 'His Highness's Throne' sign on it?" Elijah asked. "There's much more to his feelings than that, but I doubt you'd listen, would you?"

"If you're trying to imply that I'm being ridiculously harsh on Mr. Darcy and that you and him are the same, I don't believe that," Selina told him. "You're actually likable when you wanna be."

Elijah just stared her down, a smirk playing on his lips as she realized that he had a point. Color invaded her cheeks and then she said, "Oh, shut up!" And turned away from him before handing him a brownie that had burned. "Here, eat that," she said. "I don't want Mama to see it."

* * *

When Amelia arrived for book club, Selina was surprised to see that her uncle had come with.

"I just came for a little change in scenery," he assured her. "I won't get in the way, I swear."

"You came to play referee for us," Selina told him. "I know you did, you don't have to lie." She gave him a hug. "I'm glad to see you."

"Where are we reading?" Amelia asked.

"I think the library would be a good spot," Selina told her. "You know where it is, right? You two go, and after I get the brownies artfully arranged on a plate, I'll come and join you. I'm really looking forward to this."

"Me too," Amelia agreed. "And as a start, think about what's meant by the first line: 'It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife'. What does that mean?"

"That rich men are incapable of living by themselves and are just _dying_ to have women come and spend their money?" Selina asked, smiling.

"Well," Amelia nodded and shrugged, "I suppose that's _one_ possible interpretation, though not the one that was intended." She and Andrew headed off to the library then and soon, after Selina had arranged the brownies on a plate, she followed them and sat next to her mother on the library sofa, cracking open the book as they took turns reading passages and then discussing them while occasionally also pausing to ask Andrew for his input, even though he insisted they didn't need to and he was just happy to be in there with them and make sure nothing went wrong.


	45. Unreasonable Threats

"It was so sweet of you to bring your uncle over again," Christine told Sean. "I hope you don't think it's strange that I asked you to. I just…Christine seems to like him, and don't tell Matthew, but he seems like a much better example than my husband's hunter friends."

"Oh, it's not a problem," Sean replied. "Uncle Malachai told me he liked being around Sarah too."

"He's right," Malachai assured Christine. "I did."

When Matthew came back with Sarah, the little girl reached out for Malachai, who took her in his arms immediately.

"Well, _that_ makes me feel loved," Matthew told her sarcastically and kissed her hair. "If you like him so much, he might as well be your daddy, huh?"

"You're not really upset, are you?" Malachai asked. "Cause I really can't help but be irresistible to children. It's my cross to bear."

"No, it's fine," Matthew assured him. "You have magic, she has magic-" He was cut off as Sarah disappeared and Malachai quickly zapped her visible again, causing Matthew to nod. "See? That's why I don't have a problem."

"Good," Malachai said.

* * *

But although Matthew had put up a good front in Malachai's presence, he revealed his true feelings about the situation once the other man had gone home.

"I don't like that man," he huffed to Christine. "Would you tell Sean never to bring him over again?"

"Why not?" Christine asked in surprise. "I think he's nice. Don't you like him?"

"No," Matthew replied. "We barely know him and I don't think it's good for Sarah to be exposed to someone like that! He could be a criminal for all we know!"

"I'm sure that's not true," Christine assured Matthew and gave him a hug. "Sean wouldn't bring him if he knew he was troublesome."

"'If he knew' being the operative phrase," Matthew nodded.

"That's not really the problem," Christine smiled gently and put her chin on his shoulder. "Come on, talk to me, Matthew. This attitude isn't like you, so what's wrong?"

"I don't think I'll tell you," Matthew replied and tried to turn away from her. "You'll just think it's stupid."

"No, I won't," Christine promised. "Go ahead and just tell me. There won't be any judgment, I _swear_."

"I should think it would be obvious," Matthew replied. "You see how well those two get along! He even looks like her! If you put me and him next to her and watched her interact with both of us, who would you guess would be her father?"

" _You!_ " Christine told him. "And she looks more like me. That's just the luck of genetics."

"Yes, that's very fortunate," Matthew huffed. "I'm finally able to make time for a daughter and she pays more attention to someone else."

"It's probably because he's someone new," Christine replied and put a calming hand on his shoulder. "Once she's seen him enough times, I'm sure the novelty will wear off."

"Yes, well, it better," Matthew replied irritably and then went to turn off the light. Then, once Christine was asleep, he went to Sarah's room and slept in the extra bed so he could keep an eye on her at all times and be the first one to tend to her when she cried. There was no _way_ she'd forget about him after that.

* * *

"What are you reading?" Andrew asked when he found Amelia looking at a book before she went to bed. He came over beside her and kissed her cheek.

"It's that _Jane Eyre_ book Selina and I stopped reading for book club because I couldn't handle it," Amelia told him. "The first part was hard, but now…now it's not so bad. It's really interesting, actually. One of those Gothics where a poor orphan gets dragged to a house in the middle of nowhere and bad things happen to them."

"Well, don't read something that will make you uncomfortable just to prove a point," Andrew warned. "I don't want you to have nightmares."

"Thank you, but I don't think I'll get nightmares from a book," Amelia told him. "I promise."

But her dreams that night proved her wrong.

 _She was in a room where her daughter lay sleeping fitfully as a wild laugh echoed from all around her. She looked around and cried out, "Who's that? Who's there?" But there was no answer, just more loud, wild, uncontrolled laughter._

 _She ran toward the bed and tried to rouse Selina the doorknob of the room began to rattle, but she couldn't wake her. And then the fire began. She had no idea where it had come from, but it got hotter and closer to her sleeping daughter and Selina still didn't wake._

 _Amelia shut her eyes and hoped for a bucket of water or something to put the fire out, although it was so big and hot that she was sure that it wouldn't do any good, whatever she did, especially when a couple of the flames landed on the long sleeve of Selina's white night gown._

 _Grunting and swearing, Amelia picked up a bucket of water that had been sitting beside her and threw it on her daughter, who bolted up in bed, spitting water and shivering._

" _My god, what's happening?" She cried._

" _I don't know!" Amelia told her. "But we have to get out of here! There's a fire, and I think someone is trying to kill us! Can't you hear the laughter?"_

" _Yeah," Selina nodded. "Yeah, I hear it." She managed to get up off the bed and they both ran to the door, whose knob still rattled as if someone wanted to get in. Throwing all caution to the wind cause she had no other choice, Amelia grabbed her daughter's hand and opened the door with an Amazonian battle cry, ready to hit whoever was on the other side to prevent them from getting out._

 _Who they saw was a woman with wild eyes and unkempt hair. Her skin was pale and her eyes were blank, and she couldn't speak a word. Amelia froze and stared at her for a moment before pushing past her and causing her to disappear._

 _Amelia and Selina then made their way out of the house, which was just as aflame as the bedroom had been, and when they got out in the cool night air, they saw a shadowed figure on the roof (presumably the woman they'd seen outside the bedroom cause there hadn't been anyone else around) that let out one last tormented cry as she jumped from it._

 _Then, Amelia heard another echoing voice call her name. "Amelia! Amelia, wake up! Are you all right?"_

She opened her eyes and found that she was holding onto Andrew tightly, clutching him so hard that her nails were digging into his back. "Sorry," she apologized and let him go.

"That's all right," Andrew assured her, although he was wincing. "That book gave you bad dreams, didn't it?"

"Just a little," Amelia replied, taking a deep breath as Andrew played with her hair in an attempt to calm her down. "Selina was in danger and there was a fire, and it was just…bad."

"Well, it was just a dream and it's over now," Andrew assured her. "You're here with me now. You're safe."

"Yes," Amelia told him as she kissed him and ran her hands over his body. "I sure am."

* * *

"Still no luck at getting pregnant?" Charlie asked Selina as she and Elijah played with Christopher. His tone was much more matter-of-fact than it should be for a grandson asking his grandmother if she was still able to have children.

"No," Selina shook her head. "But don't you go thinking that's the only reason why we came to visit you and your son. We want to see you too."

"Of course!" Charlie replied. "No other reason crossed our minds."

"Good," Selina nodded and kissed the little boy. He then looked at her and hugged her, a smile on his face that made her heart ache.

"Are you okay?" Charlie asked. "Is he bothering you? You look pained, Grandma."

"I'm fine," Selina assured him and hugged Christopher close. "This cute little guy couldn't bother me. I just…I just wish that I could keep him because he's so adorable!"

"You don't suppose we could keep him for the night, do you?" Elijah asked. "Would that upset him?"

"No, I don't think it would," Charlie said as he watched his son giggle in Selina's lap. "Let me call Elizabeth and ask, though." He quickly called his wife and permission was immediately given for Selina and Elijah to take Christopher for the night.

With that given, they stayed to play a little longer, and then, with a small suitcase of Christopher's things packed, headed for home.

* * *

When they arrived, Selina was immediately met with a worried phone call from Christine. "Can you come and see us?" She asked. "Your father is a bit upset."

"Sure," Selina nodded. "What happened?"

"Sarah is showing attention to other men besides him and he keeps ranting about karma and how the universe is turning against him," Christine told her. "I've tried to talk him out of it, but it hasn't worked. Do you think you could give it a shot? I think it would really help him out."

"Sure," Selina told her, feeling a little surprised since what she was saying seemed so uncharacteristic of her father. "I'll be right over."


	46. Losing Touch With Reality

"Thank you so much for your help with this," Matthew told Selina as he, she, and Sarah hung out at Selina and Elijah's house where Malachai couldn't interfere with them. "I'm glad to have a place to get away to because with Sean and Eva being at our house, who knows when _he_ might come to visit."

"Who is this guy that you don't like again?" Selina asked. "I know you've explained before, but I still don't understand."

"It's just a man that Sarah is bonding with who makes me uncomfortable," Andrew replied. "I don't like him. He seems shifty. In fact, he got in trouble with the witch government for some reason. I heard him and Sean talking about it, although whatever it was he did must not have been bad enough to put him away." He sighed. "I wish it had."

"I hope you're not jealous of anyone else who tries to bond with _me_ ," Selina asked. "Are you? Should I warn Uncle Andrew?"

"No, he's fine," Matthew sighed and picked up Sarah. "I can't be mad at him for looking after you. I just can't."

"Good," Selina nodded. "Speaking of Uncle Andrew, maybe you could talk to him about this. He could help you deal with it."

"Oh, it's not so bad that I need to talk to my brother," Matthew assured her. "I do know exactly what I need to do, though. Would you mind watching Sarah for a bit while I drive home?"

"Fine," Selina replied. "But why do you need to go home? It's not to kill the guy, is it? I know you keep your monogrammed pistol in reach."

Matthew smiled, one corner of his mouth up. "I can see why you're concerned, darlin', but I have better things to do than shoot some man. Guns are for hunting and that's it."

"All right," Selina agreed. But she was just humoring her father. She was still concerned about what he might do if left in a house with this man that he seemed to hate so much and easy access to several guns, all of which he knew how to use really well. He was an expert marksman.

He headed out and Selina shut her eyes and prayed that she wouldn't get a call from Christine that her father had lost his mind and was trying to kill Malachai. She hoped he wouldn't, but there was precedent for that sort of thing: When she'd been a fourteen-year-old human, her father had broken into the jail where her abusive stepfather had been incarcerated, ripped him to pieces, and then left him out on the road where someone would find him.

Selina still remembered it very clearly even though it had happened many years before. It had been right at the beginning of Mystic Falls' vampire scare, so the papers just reported that he'd died of a heart attack and then was ripped apart by forest creatures instead of the truth. (Matthew hadn't been subtle about the way he killed, which was by ripping Robert Pierce's throat out and draining him of some of his blood, and that was why the reason for his death had been a lie: Selina's uncle hadn't wanted the town to worry.)

Now she was worried that history would repeat itself and Malachai would be dead soon. So she was incredibly relieved when he returned, whistling through his teeth and smiling, a pistol in hand and a bunch of tin cans in a bag.

"You seem surprised that I came back," he said. "I told you I would, didn't I? Why would you doubt me?"

"I don't know," Selina apologized. "Sorry." She then settled on the sofa with her sister, watching out the back door as her father set up his targets and practiced his shooting, a look of glee on his face every time he prepared to make another shot, or one of the tin cans exploded on impact.

"Our daddy is a good man," she told her sister. "But I have a feeling that he's about to do something crazy and stupid."

Sarah stared at her, her big brown eyes wide as Selina hugged her and turned her back to the window.

"Daddy, are you all right?" Selina asked when he got back inside and she noticed the safety wasn't on his gun. "You can tell me. Anything that's wrong, I'll talk to you about it. You know that, right?"

"Of course," Matthew assured her, putting the gun down and picking up Sarah. "If something is ever wrong, I'll come and talk to you. I promise." He took her to the kitchen and then Selina put the TV on and tried to think of something else besides her father until Elijah came back and she could warn him about what might happen if Matthew was faced with Malachai any longer, and how they would definitely be affected.

* * *

"Why do you have to keep coming here?" Matthew asked irritably when he opened the door to Malachai's knock with his free hand (he held Sarah in his other arm.) "Is it to visit Sean? Cause he and Eva have gone out."

"Actually, now I'm here to see _you,_ " Malachai said, coming in without explicit invitation. "I have something I need to confess and I'm glad we're alone. Would you get your wife, too? She needs to hear this also."

"All right," Matthew said with a huff when he and Christine were sitting in the living room with Malachai a little later while Sarah sat in her play pen. "What? Are you going to explain why you keep coming here and trying to steal my daughter?"

"I wouldn't say I'm trying to _steal_ her," Malachai replied. "But that's the thing: if I want to spend time with her, I think we should make some sort of arrangement because…she's my daughter too, and that means something. I have to watch her too if you don't want her to get in trouble with the magical government."

"Excuse me?" Matthew asked, tensing up. "What the hell do you mean by that?"

"I mean just what I say," Malachai replied and stood up. He looked worried for Matthew and wasn't trying to show him up or anything. "I was the one who fathered her, the donor from the sperm bank."

"You're kidding!" Christine replied. "This is some sort of sick joke, isn't it?"

"No," Malachai shook his head. "I know it was a human sperm bank and that was what you thought you were getting, but my donation ended up there by mistake, and now the Council wants me to do what I can to help you raise Sarah and keep her safe."

Matthew's lips pursed and he strode up to Malachai. It was completely obvious that he was trying very hard to hold on to his temper. "I know you mean well," he told him. "But we can handle this."

"I really don't think you can," Malachai pointed out. "Do you have magic?"

"Well, no…but that's what we have Eva and your nephew for!" Matthew replied.

Malachai scoffed. "Well, that's nice. Force two people to put their lives on hold just because you're incapable of caring for your child properly. Give them a break and let me take their place."

As this exchange was going on, Christine headed to the kitchen to call Selina again. After she was apprised of the situation and told Christine she was on her way, Christine ended the call and breathed a sigh of relief before putting Sarah in her room and heading back to the living room to break up the fight between Malachai and Matthew.

"Okay, we're stopping now!" She said. "Matthew, what in the world is wrong with you?"

"He told me that I'm incapable of taking care of my child," Matthew replied. He was looking as if he were losing his mind. "He says that I should just let you and him raise her together. Her parents. That I have no place because I have no magic."

" _You're_ her parent," Christine said for what seemed like the thousandth time. " _You're_ her father. You _know_ that. Even when we first went to the sperm bank, you knew that."

"Well, of course, but I didn't expect the actual donor to come _strolling_ over my threshold and claim ownership of my baby! That's what he's doing! I've been cuckolded!"

Then, in the blink of an eye, Matthew had zipped away and come back with his pistol in his hand. He cocked it and just as he pointed the gun right at Malachai's chest, shooting several times, Christine let out a cry and fell to the floor in a faint, and a blurry shape sped across and took the bullets, leaving Malachi uninjured.

It took some time for Matthew to register what happened, but when he came back to himself, he noticed who'd taken the bullets in Malachai's stead and let out a cry like a wounded animal: his daughter, who now lay bleeding and still on the floor.

He knew she'd heal, but he couldn't help taking her in his arms anyway, and sobbing as he whispered apologies over and over again, carrying Selina up to bed and calling Elijah to say that she would be spending the night to help him deal with the Malachai crisis. But he couldn't face Christine or Sarah. He didn't know _What_ they were to him anymore.

After he made the call, he went to check on Selina one more time. As he leaned over her, her eyes opened and she said weakly, "Daddy, what happened?"

"I made a mistake," he told her. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I let you down so much. I'll make it up to you. I promise." Then she shut her eyes and he kissed her before leaving her room and shutting the door behind him, realizing there was only one thing he could do now, no matter how painful it was.

* * *

"What the hell?" Selina asked groggily when she woke up the next morning next to her father who sat in the driver's seat of his truck. "Where the hell am I?"

"We're on the road," Matthew told her. "We left early this morning to go somewhere special and didn't stop for breakfast, but there's blood in the back and if you want food, we can stop at a diner or something."

This made Selina feel more awake. "When did you put me in your truck?" She asked. "Are you seriously telling me that you put me in your truck while I was sleeping and drove off with me? The last thing I remember is being shot…by _you_! Have you lost your mind? I haven't even called Elijah to tell him where I am! Do you realize that I need to call Elijah to tell him where I am?"

"Yes," Matthew nodded. "But you don't understand. I just lost a daughter and I can't lose another one! And now it's just you and me. That's what you've always wanted, isn't it?"

"Well…yes," Selina nodded. "But…are you saying that you're leaving Christine and Sarah to run off with me?"

"They're much better off without me anyway now that Christine can marry Malachai and they can raise their daughter together," Matthew said.

"Don't do this again," Selina told him. "That's what you told Doctor Stensrund when you decided not to come back home to Mama and me after you got turned, isn't it? That we'd be better off without you? Well, it didn't do me any good and it won't be good for Sarah, either!"

"No," Matthew shook his head. "That's what the good doctor told _me._ I didn't believe him at first, but now I don't think he was wrong. Now, onto another subject: did you want to stop for breakfast, or not?"


	47. Coming Back To Earth

"Your brother has lost his _mind_!" Elijah yelled at Andrew as he and Amelia sat and stared at him. "He took Selina away, and I don't know if he's gonna bring her back!"

"But…but why would he do that?" Amelia asked. "What would make him think that way?"

"I don't know," Elijah shrugged. "I wasn't home. But Christine was. Maybe we could ask her."

When they went to Matthew and Christine's house, they found her clutching her daughter and sobbing. "He just left," she cried. "He's gone. And he tried to kill a man! If Selina hadn't gotten in the way of the bullets, I don't know what would have happened."

Elijah put his arms around his daughter and said, "I know this is hard, but…can you tell us what's making him act this way?"

"Well, Sean's uncle Malachai told us that he was Sarah's biological father and asked to be part of her life and that drove Matthew _nuts_!" Christine sobbed. "He screamed about being cuckolded, he grabbed a gun, and he just…he shot…" She dissolved into tears and then Elijah looked at Andrew. "Does this make any sense?"

"It does," Andrew sighed. "Our father put lots of ideas into Matthew's head about what being a man is: he left Selina and Amelia because he felt he needed to protect them. And now he's left Sarah because they've threatened his sense of being a man, and Father always told him that a real man never puts up with that."

"And how long do you think this attitude of his will last?" Elijah asked again. "Forever?"

"No, I'm sure it won't be _forever,_ " Andrew assured him. "He took Selina with him wherever it was that he went and I'm sure she'll be able to talk sense into him and convince him to come home."

"I would like that," Christine said. "Although when he _does_ come back, he's going to get a serious talking to. Cause call me crazy, but…I don't like being accused of being unfaithful when I wasn't. Or having my daughter be basically called a bastard when neither of those things is true."

"It's completely justified for you to put him through some sort of trial because of what he did to you," Andrew told her. "Just please, however you choose to do it, don't hurt him, all right?"

"Of course not," Christine replied. "I know this was just some weird psychotic break and he most likely didn't mean any of the things he said, but…I have to make a stand. I have to show him that he better not do that again."

"That's a sound idea," Andrew nodded. "I wish you the best of luck with that and if you need any help from me or Amelia, we'd be more than happy to give it to you."

"Really?" Christine asked, looking at Amelia in surprise.

"Of course," Amelia nodded. "I've learned that you're not the enemy anymore. You're in the same place I was, so of course I'll help if you need it."

"And me," Elijah added.

"Thanks, Dad, but…you need to look out for Selina," Christine told him. "I have so many other offers of help. I'll be taken care of. You look out for your wife."

"She can handle herself," Elijah told her. "In fact, I think his bringing her along was one of the best things he could have done. She'll help him out of this. I just know it."

* * *

"So this is one of your houses?" Selina asked as Matthew helped her out of the car and then they stood in front of the large two-story house, white painted with blue shutters and gingerbread trim and four windows in two rows on either side of the door and four windows in two rows above it. "It's gorgeous. It'll be a perfect place to rest ourselves while we talk about what the hell is going on with you."

"Nothing is going on," Matthew replied. "I'm just a guy who wants to spend time with his only daughter."

"You have _two_ daughters," Selina reminded him. "She lives at home with your second wife that you need to go back to."

"I-I can't go back there, darlin'" Matthew told her, looking pained. "I know that's what you want me to do, but I just…I just can't." He gave her a hug. "You get that, right?"

"Not really," Selina replied. "But that's why we need to go in and talk about it."

Matthew rolled his eyes as they went inside and Selina set him up with a glass of whiskey and then sat down across from him at the kitchen table. "Okay," she said. "Tell me what it was that made you act like someone from the _Godfather_ all of a sudden. Cause you don't act like that normally. You know you don't."

Matthew downed the glass of whiskey in one go and pushed the empty glass toward Selina. "More please," he said.

"Good god," Selina groaned and stood up. "It's like my childhood with Mama all over again only now I'm old enough to deal with it. Okay, I'll get you _one more_ glass and then you have to talk to me."

"All right," Matthew nodded. "That sounds fair."

So she poured him another glass and slid it over to him, then sat down and said, "Okay, drink slower and talk to me this time: what made you go so nuts? Is it some macho man thing?"

"Well, yes," Matthew nodded. "I suppose it is. You'll probably roll your eyes at me, but…you know that when I became a vampire, I lost my ability to have children because not all of us have magic on our side or are lucky enough to be part of some big magical endgame that makes you fertile after you're dead."

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "I know I'm lucky that way."

"So anyway…I went into marriage knowing that even if Christine wanted to have kids, I wouldn't be able to father them," Matthew continued. "That's a really big blow to a man's ego. When she proposed going to the sperm bank, I was hesitant in my head but because it was something she wanted, and I would be raising the kid anyway, it was all right, even if the child wouldn't biologically be mine. I could at least keep up the illusion, you know?"

"And then Malachai showed up and wanted to be part of Sarah's life and the illusion you had about being able to pretend you were her biological father was shattered, your ego was crushed, and you had a breakdown," Selina finished. "Is that it?"

"Yes," Matthew nodded. "I know you heard a lot from your mother and your grandparents in your human life, and possibly even now, that a big part of being a woman was being able to be a mother and bear children, but men hear it too. Your virility is measured by being able to father children, possibly with more than one woman, and the fact that I only fathered one when I _could_ father children, and now I can't father any and have to have another man do it for me…it's demoralizing. Even more so when that man shows up on my doorstep and offers to replace me cause he has the ability to parent his daughter better than I can. I know that's no excuse to try and kill a man, but…I have spent so much of my life putting up with things from other people…being told what to do, living by other people's rules. I try _so_ hard, and this…it was too much. It was like I was being spat on when I didn't do anything to deserve it. Why I can't just live my life with my family and be happy without bullshit like this showing up on my doorstep, I have no idea."

"I don't either and I'm sorry it happened, but…that doesn't mean you can just run away from it all," Selina replied and took his hand. "It won't make it go away. The only thing that will make it better is go back to Christine and Sarah and be their wife and father. That's what you have to do, Daddy."

"Oh, I know," Matthew nodded. "I know that. But do you think Christine will want me back after what I did? After what I said? She probably won't. What's the point in going back?"

"Don't put words in Christine's mouth," Selina said. "She _loves_ you and Sarah loves you. I bet Christine is pissed as hell that you ran away, but that doesn't mean she wants you out of her lives permanently. Go back, Daddy. Go back and talk to her, and she'll tell you what you need to do next."

"I will," Matthew nodded. "I'm not ready to face her yet, but when the time is right, I'll go home to her, I swear."

"Are you _sure_?" Selina asked, catching Matthew's eye.

"Yeah," Matthew nodded and drank the rest of his whiskey. "I am." He then stood up and said, I need to go lie down. You need to call Elijah and tell him where you are?"

"He knows," Selina told him. "But yeah, I'll probably call him again soon."

* * *

Christine got several offers of places to stay until Matthew returned, taking up Sean and Eva's offer to have her and Sarah come and stay with them and bring the dogs too. Part of the deal, however, was that Malachai would stay away, at least for now.

"I was only trying to help," He said to Sean when he was told the plan.

"I know you were, but…it might be best not to come by anymore. At least not until we can get this business with Matthew settled," Sean said. "You can go back to Kai's and play with Molly. It's not like you're being completely deprived, is it?"

"No," Malachai sighed. "I suppose not." He then got in his car and headed back to Kai and Victoria's, and was extremely grateful for Molly's affection and company to replace what he'd lost. She was a help and Malachai knew Klaus would be too He'd know a way to cheer him up for sure.


	48. Setting Limits

"Here you are!" Elijah cried when he opened the front door and saw Selina on the other side. She hugged him hard and tried to calm her quickly beating heart by inhaling the scent on his neck that usually calmed her. However, he smelled a little different today.

"Have you been drinking?" She asked him as she pulled away. "Are you all right?"

"Now I am," he said, even though his nose was red and his gait was a little unsteady. "I've been up all night," he confessed. "Every night since your father took you. I didn't know if you were going to come back or not."

"Of course I was," Selina told him. "Daddy wouldn't kill _me!_ "

"I don't know how you can be so sure of that," Elijah told her. "The man was emotionally overwrought and he can do amazing things with a gun. I remember that you told me that."

"Daddy's fine now," Selina told him. "He's at his house, thinking of what he's gonna tell Christine to get her to take him back."

"I don't know how he can expect that," Elijah replied, his voice prickly. "After all those things he said about her and sweet little Sarah."

"Well, we'll just have to see what happens, won't we?" Selina asked. She then took off her jacket and hung it up. "I need blood," she said. "It's been a long day."

"Did your father drive you back?" Elijah wanted to know as he led her to the living room and sat her down on the sofa.

"No, I took a taxi back," Selina told him. "And it was all I could do not to make him pull off on the side of the road so I could suck him dry. That wouldn't have done me much good, would it?"

"Why did you let yourself get so hungry?" Elijah asked. "Haven't you been feeding at all?"

"I have," Selina nodded. "Just not as much as I'm used to because I've been taking care of Daddy, you know, and I couldn't risk doing anything that would make me as nutty as he was."

"Well, that was very good of you," he told her. "You're a good daughter."

"Damn right I am," Selina nodded. "I at least stopped him from being put in jail on a murder charge and if that's not filial dedication, I don't know what is."

Elijah went and got her some blood and as he sat back down with her, he asked, "Would you like me to call school tomorrow and tell them you need more time to recover from what you've been through?"

"It's a really sweet offer," she said and put her free arm around him before she kissed his cheek. "But I think…I think I've been out of my normal pattern long enough. I just want to have my blood, take a bath, and try and get some rest before I go back to class tomorrow."

After she'd taken all she could, Selina stood up, stretched, and gave Elijah a long, deep kiss before telling him that she was heading away to take her bath.

"All right," he told her and gave her a spank. "You do that. I'm just…I'm really glad you're safe."

"Yeah, me too," Selina nodded. "Not that I was ever worried about that, but…being away from you, it made me realize how important you've become in my life. I love you, Elijah."

"Yes," Elijah nodded as she turned on her heel. "I love you too."

* * *

"I just don't know what to do about Matthew," Christine told Eva on the phone. They'd moved back to their house after a couple of days because Christine felt like she was imposing on her friend. But they'd still talked on a nightly basis after that. "I don't know what to do with him because on the one hand, I know he's probably suffering horribly right now and I want to wrap him in blankets, give him cocoa, and tell him that everything is going to be okay. But on the other, I just want to grab him and shake him and tell him that I never want him to say any of the bullshit he said about me or Sarah ever again, otherwise I'm going to toss him out on his ass and never speak to him again. What do you think I should do?"

"Do you _really_ want my advice?" Eva asked. "People don't usually ask me for my advice."

"Well, I want it this time," Christine replied. But then the doorbell rang and thunder crashed as the storm that had begun that morning continued. "Hang on a minute," she said. "There's someone at the door." She picked up Sarah and they went to answer it together. And when she opened the door, a wet, pathetic figure met her eyes.

"Hello, Christine," he said humbly. "Can I…Can I come in?"

Christine sighed. "It was very sneaky of you to come in the rain, Matthew," she told him as she invited him in. "You knew I wouldn't turn you away then, didn't you?"

"Well, I wasn't expecting it," Matthew told her. "But I _did_ hope."

While Christine's look was one of someone who was utterly worn down, Sarah's eyes were bright and eager as she reached for her father.

"Can I take her?" He asked Christine.  
"Well, that would be nice," She replied.

So Matthew took his daughter, sat down on the sofa, and let her rest against his wet shirt. "I want you to know that my being here is not a demand that you take me back," he said. "I just…I want to know where we should go now."

"Well before we decide that, I have one question for you," Christine said seriously, arms crossed. "When you were about to shoot Malachai and screaming about being cuckolded, did you really mean any of that, or was it just the result of the shock you felt after finding out that Malachai was Sarah's biological father?"

"It was the shock!" Matthew assured her. "If I had been in my right mind, I wouldn't have said such things."

"That's what I thought," Christine nodded. "That's why this is the plan: I'll take you back, but when you're not teaching, _you're_ the one who's gonna look after Sarah while I do what I need to do. You're also going to be sleeping on the sofa until I don't feel mad at you anymore. And as for our intimacy, we'll have that cause I have needs despite my anger. But when I say I'm done and I want you to leave, that's it. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Matthew nodded. "I do. And…thank you for giving me this second chance."

"You're welcome," Christine told him, her voice curt. "But I don't want us to go through something like this again. It's too much! If you're upset about something, you talk to me. Don't just let it build up until you have a psychotic break. I'm here to _help_ you. Don't you get that? Sarah and I both love you and want you in our lives but it won't do us any good if you're being cowardly and running away."

"I know," Matthew told her, his eyes locked on hers as he hugged his daughter. "I know that now. I promise."

"Hello?" Said a voice from the kitchen. "Christine, are you still there?"

"Oh, shit!" Christine cried. "I was talking to Eva before you showed up and I left her hanging." She then ran off to tell Eva that everything was okay while Matthew cuddled with Sarah for a bit and then put her to bed before going to take a shower and dry himself off after being in the rain.

* * *

"I can't stop thinking about my brother," Andrew told Amelia. "I just…I know he's been bottling up a lot over the years, but this…this is unbelievable!"

"Yeah," Amelia said. "If this was something that would be dealt with in the normal courts, you think he'd be able to get away with an insanity plea?"

"Probably not," Andrew replied. "You have to honestly have no idea what you're doing is wrong in order for that to work and he _clearly_ knew what he was doing." He paused. "Of course the first man to ever get away with that was in the same sort of situation as my brother. Well, the same situation that my brother _believed_ he was in, anyway. It's just…it's getting on my nerves. How are you staying so calm?"

"I've been thinking about Charlotte," Amelia replied. "And what it must be like wherever she is. I hope she's in heaven. That would be a nice place for her to be after all she's gone through, don't you think?"

"Yes," Andrew nodded, coming to embrace her. "I do."

* * *

Despite what her friend wanted for her, however, heaven was not where Charlotte was. Instead of going into the light, she'd wandered around the country, finally ending up in Seattle. She often frequented places full of people like bars, bowling alleys and dance halls, but usually at night or after closing when no one would be around to see her sneak drinks from the bar. One night, however, that all changed.

She had helped herself to whiskey as usual and had just put the cup to her lips when she heard a voice. "Hey, you, this place is supposed to be empty. It's past closing time."

The voice made her choke on her drink and drop the glass to the floor where it shattered. She was then faced with the building's janitor, who good-naturedly wiped up the glass and then faced her. "So…what's your story?" He asked. "What makes you come and steal drinks every night?"

Charlotte was shocked. No one had been able to see her before. That's how she'd gotten away with all her previous adventures. Now here was a man with blond hair hanging in his nice blue eyes, wearing a gray t-shirt and dirty, torn overalls, who could see her. She pushed her hair out of her blue eyes, cleared her throat, and said with dignity, "Who in the world are you? How can you see me?"

"I've always been able to see folks like you," he told her with a smile. "As long as I can remember. And usually people stick around cause they got some sort of troubles. So…what's on your mind? You wanna talk to me? I'm Thomas, by the way. Thomas Cooper."

Charlotte ignored his outstretched hand and said, "I'm Charlotte. And I'm not doing this because I have troubles. Now is finally my chance to enjoy life and I'm taking it."

"But you're _dead_ ," Thomas told her bluntly. "You _have_ no life. Isn't there somewhere else you'd rather be?"

"I know what you're getting at and everyone else you've ever helped has probably felt that way, but not me," Charlotte told him, pushing a strand of dark hair back into her up-do. "At least not now. I'm not ready. So if you don't mind…could you just let me do what I need to and not tell anyone I'm here? Please? You seem like a very nice young man, if a little rough around the edges. I think we could be friends."

Thomas smiled. "I think I'd like that," he told her. "I'm an orphan, you know. Never had much in terms of friends or family and while it's a bit of a surprise to have my first real friend be a ghost…sure, why not? No one will hear a thing about you from me. It'll be our secret."

"Thank you," Charlotte replied and finally shook his hand. "I really, _really_ appreciate that."


	49. One More Secret

"So…how are things going with you and Christine?" Selina asked her father over lunch at school. "Did she take you back?"

"She did," Matthew nodded. "She's a good woman. She has a list of things I need to do to make up what I did, but it's nothing too hard."

"Good," Selina nodded. "If you two would have split up, I would have been so sad."

"Would you really?" Matthew asked. "That's so sweet."

"Of course," Selina nodded. "I know my thoughts about you two were not so good at first, but now…now I'm just glad she makes you happy."

"Good," Matthew smiled. "Thank you. And I won't forget about you, I promise."

"Oh, I know," Selina nodded. "And as long as our bonding experiences don't involve you putting me in a car without my knowledge and taking me to a house I've never actually been to again, I think we could still have some good times."

"Yeah, I agree," Matthew nodded. "Let's not do that crazy abduction thing again. I mean, we can still spend time just the two of us, right? As long as we both know what we're there for?"

"Of course," Selina nodded. "I would love that. And the funny thing is, if you had done that sort of abduction plot when I was human and little, it would have made me so happy. Did you ever…did you ever think about that all the times you came back to see me?"

"Yes," Matthew nodded. "There were times that I did, but of course, then I thought of your mother and how it would hurt her to not have you in her life and I just couldn't do it." He paused. "Of course when you were fourteen, that changed."

"You mean, around the time you killed Robert Pierce, you thought of taking me away?" Selina asked.

"Yes," Matthew nodded, his gaze dark again. "I did. I looked at that man and thought of all he'd done, and I said to myself, 'I've been an absolute fool letting a monster like this around my child for so long. I know Amelia will do what she will, but that doesn't mean Selina should have to suffer for it. It started when I I'd finally gotten him cornered…."

" _All right, you," the warden said as he roughly dragged a drunk Matthew to the jail cell where Amelia's current husband, Robert Pierce, sat in filth for his latest abuse of her. The door was then opened and Matthew was then roughly shoved in, landing at Robert's feet. Robert, who waw swarthy with a beard that covered the entire area under his nose, burst into laughter and Matthew could see very clearly that he'd lost a few teeth._

" _Well look who's here," he chuckled. "How nice of them to stick you in here, pretty boy!"_

 _Matthew scoffed. "How my wife was ever attracted to you, I have no idea."_

 _That made Robert's laughter cut off. Then he leaned forward, squinting. "Well, what do you know?" He said, leaning back. "You_ are _Amelia's little war hero, aren't you? She always told me you were dead. Don't you get any ideas now. When I get out of here, I'm going back to her. You ain't taking my place with her and your uppity little daughter. She's a pretty one, she is."_

 _It was that last sentence that did it. That pushed Matthew over the edge, especially in his drunken state. Not that he wouldn't have defended his daughter if he hadn't been drunk, but part of the reason why he'd gotten himself into this state was to make it easier to get himself to jail, confront this monster who had been tormenting his wife and daughter, and end his life so they would be safe._

 _With a cry, Matthew charged the man. Although Robert Pierce was bigger, he wasn't as agile and soon, Matthew had knocked him to his feet and sunk his fangs into the man's neck, drinking from him with pleasure, tearing his throat out when the blood flow wasn't coming fast enough. When he'd had his fill and it was clear the man was very dead, he left the body on the cell floor and let the rats gnaw on it for a bit before parting the bars of the cell with his bare hands and dragging Robert Pierce's body out of the cell before zipping away from the jail and throwing him where he was later discovered by Mystic Falls officials. After nodding smugly, he then went to Doctor Stensrund's to confess what he'd done and promise not to do it again, and then ask the good doctor's help in getting Selina out of town. Amelia was clearly past caring, and even though Robert Pierce was now dead, who knew what sort of man Amelia would pick next to ogle their daughter as she went through her teenage years?_

"So that's how it happened," Selina sucked in her breath. "Wow. But why didn't you take me away then even though it was the plan? Did Doctor Stensrund convince you not to?"

"Exactly," Matthew nodded. "After I told him what I did to Robert Pierce, he said that act was brazen enough to draw attention, and that taking you would only make things worse, and that if I wanted to go through with taking you away, I should at least wait until things died down first." He sighed. "Then of course, I listened to that and didn't see you again until Caroline asked me that fifties dance at the high school."

"I remember," Selina nodded. "I always thought she was an interesting choice. Why'd you pick her?"

"Well, there wasn't anyone from my family left, I thought it would be a bad idea to try and make friends with your mother's family, and I knew that you and the Forbes' had issues so they would be least likely to tell you that I had come back," Matthew replied. "Plus, Caroline reminded me of your mother."

"Yep," Selina nodded. "I knew that one was coming."

Matthew smiled. "You know me well." He then pushed the brownie he'd gotten with his lunch toward her. "You wanna eat this? I don't think I have room."

"Sure, I'll take it," Selina nodded. "Thanks."

* * *

"We got a letter," Amelia said as she came in with the mail the following Saturday. "Do you know a Thomas Cooper? I've never heard of him."

"I haven't either," Andrew replied. "Open it. Maybe we got the message by mistake."

So Amelia opened the letter and read it. It began _I know this will probably sound weird, but…_ and continued to say that Thomas was a friend of Charlotte's and was writing on her behalf to tell them she was all right.

"That was nice," Andrew smiled. "I think we should keep that." He then looked at Amelia, who held the letter close to her chest. "Are you okay?" He asked her.

"Yes, but…Thomas," Amelia got out. "That name reminds me of something I need to tell you. Something important. It might shock you, though."

"Not after being brought back from the dead," Andrew told her. "What is it?"

Amelia let out a breath and sat down. "You promise me you won't freak out when I tell you?" She asked. "Do you _swear_?"

"Yes, just tell me!" Andrew cried. "You're starting to scare me now. Is it something bad? Did you do something wrong that I don't know about?"

"Well, it's not as bad as all that," Amelia admitted. "But just before you died, I realized that I was carrying your child. _After_ you died, I managed not to miscarry, and then when I went into labor, I ended up giving birth to a healthy boy that I named Thomas when I still thought I could raise him on my own. You and I had a son. And it was one of the saddest things to happen in my whole life that I didn't get to raise him with you." After she was done with her speech, she waited for Andrew to say something in response, but he stayed silent. "Would you say something?" She begged. "Please?"

He opened his mouth to try and get words out, but all he managed were a few noises before his eyes rolled back in his head and he passed out.

* * *

Andrew was so shocked by what Amelia had told him that he had to take the night off from law school, calling the teacher to let him know once Amelia had brought him out of his faint.

Then, when he'd come back and was sitting down, he said to her, "Are you joking? This is a very odd trick to play on me."

"It's not a trick," Amelia told him calmly. "It happened for real. I found out right after you died. If I had known before I would have let you know."

"And you didn't miscarry?" Andrew wanted to know, even though Amelia had already gone over that, and answered every other question he was asking. "What happened to our son?"

"I named him and was all set to raise him, but then I looked at Selina and realized how much I screwed her up, and I didn't want to do that to Thomas too, so…so Doctor Stensrund and I drove into Richmond and left him in an orphanage and I've tried not to think of it ever since."

"And…and does Selina know about her younger brother?" Andrew asked. "Why didn't she ever mention this to me?"

"Well, you know I sent her from house to house when she was a girl," Amelia told him. "Between that and my going to hide out at Doctor Stensrund's when I really began to show, there's no way she could have known."

"Oh, my god," Andrew sighed. "The one time I get a healthy child and a woman I love who manages to make it through her labor, I don't even get to be around to enjoy the experience. And he's long dead now, so it's not like we can just find him and start over." He looked at Amelia. "That's what this is about, right? Seeing that someone with the same name wrote that letter for Charlotte made you remember this? You don't think it's our Thomas that wrote that letter?"

"Of course not," Amelia replied. "It was years ago that I had him. He would be long dead by now."

Andrew sighed. "I just wish we could know where to go and pay our respects."

"Yeah," Amelia nodded. "Here's the bright spot too: With this second chance we've been given, we can try again if we want." She paused. "Do you want?"

"Of course," Andrew assured her. "But it would probably be best to warn Selina well in advance before we do, don't you think?"

"Yes," Amelia nodded. "I totally agree about that."


	50. A Toast To New Friends

"It's so nice to see that the two of you have recovered from what happened," Elijah told Christine as they and Selina and Matthew, along with Sarah, hung out in Elijah and Selina's backyard. "I would have been so sad if things had ended permanently between you."

"Oh, there wasn't ever any chance of that since I knew that he didn't actually _mean_ any of the things he said," Christine told her father as Matthew took one of her hands and kissed it. "I just had to prove to him that I didn't put up with such overwrought emotional displays as that."

"There weren't any big fights, were there?" Selina asked as she reached out in front of her and grabbed some cereal from a small bowl to feed Sarah, who sat in her lap.

"Well, his wallet took a hit," Christine replied.

"Oh, I let you _think_ it did, but it really wasn't much," Matthew informed her.

"Good," Christine nodded. "Cause I really didn't want to hurt you so bad." She kissed him on the lips then, which made Selina avert her eyes and busy herself with smelling the baby shampoo scent of Sarah's hair. She was pleased that her father was happy with Christine, but it still made her stomach roil to see proof of it.

Noticing his wife's discomfort, Elijah quickly changed the subject. "Anything else new and exciting going on?"

"Well, Andrew called and sounded all flustered when he told me that apparently, he and Amelia had a child that she sent to an orphanage cause she thought she'd have trouble raising him by herself," Matthew said.

"Oh, my god! I _knew_ she was pregnant!" Selina cried out. "There was this one time she came to pick me up from Damon and Stefan's for my cousin Jeannie's birthday and she just…she looked like she'd put on weight. Of course when I asked her about it, she just frowned at me and told me not to be indelicate, but I knew something was up. And that didn't even include all the whisperings around town about why she spent all that time with Doctor Stensrund. I should have figured it out when I did the same thing before Joshua came along." Joshua was her son with Damon, whose birth was one of the last things that had occurred to her as a human. This was just a passing point of interest to everyone except Elijah, who knew who Joshua was and put on the same face he always did every time one of Selina's past relationships was brought up. So she quickly changed the subject again, kissing Sarah's hair. "We're still working on getting her a little playmate. It'll happen if it kills both of us."

"Oh, I hope things don't go that far!" Matthew told her. "Unless you were being hyperbolic, in which case, I still hope it happens. She gets along well with Junior and Finn, so another friend would probably be a good thing for her. She's got the temperament for it."

"Yeah," Selina nodded and kissed her sister's head. "I really think she does. And any friend she makes is lucky to have her."

* * *

"Okay, Grandma, thanks for letting us know," Lucy told Amelia as she perched on the arm of the brown leather arm chair where Damon sat watching TV with the remote in his hand. "We're really glad to know that. Yeah, sure. Of course I'll tell him. He's sitting right next to me. All right, bye."

"What does Amelia have to say to me?" He asked her. "I assume that's the grandma you were talking to because your father's mother would have no interest in me whatsoever."

"Good point," Lucy told him. "She told me to tell you that she got a letter from a man named Thomas telling her that your mother is haunting the bar where he works and that she's as happy as a clam. Apparently she thought Grandma Amelia would want to know that." She paused as she saw a slight shudder go through Damon's body. "What?" She asked. "What's the matter?"

"I just don't like the idea of strange men writing things about my mother, all right?" Damon asked, his voice testy.

"Don't tell me you're hoping your parents were together in the afterlife," Lucy told him.

"Well, no," Damon shook his head. "I always thought Mother deserved better than Father, but that doesn't mean I'm all right with just _any_ man getting near her."

"I think you can calm down," Lucy assured him. "Your mother's been dead for _years_ , remember? Even if she _did_ develop a fondness for a live man, or he developed a fondness for her, who's to say it will go anywhere? I think it's highly unlikely. Do you think you can remember that?"

"Did Amelia happen to mention where the letter had come from? I'm gonna find out where Mother is, get Stefan to come down with me, and we'll meet this guy," Damon proclaimed, indicating that he wasn't listening to Lucy at all.

"No, she didn't say anything," Lucy told him. "But I'm sure the guy that is with your mother is nice. A real knight in shining armor. That's how I picture him." She grinned. "I might just go and paint that! What a great idea!" She ran off and Damon called after her, "Fine, paint what you want. Just don't hang it up where I can see it, okay?"

Lucy turned. "Are you sore because this is one of the rare times I'm painting a painting of people and none of them is you?"

"Maybe a little," Damon replied. "It's a bit hurtful."

"Oh, come on," Lucy told him. "It's fine. I'll paint it and once it's done, you won't even have to look at it."

"Fine," Damon told her. "Whatever." And while Lucy did her painting, Damon sat in his chair, drank his beer, and had his own thoughts about what his mother and her guy friend were up to as well as ideas about the man's character, personality, and intentions, none of which were very flattering or even had the slightest basis in reality, but were just products of his overprotective mind.

* * *

"Why isn't anyone at the bar today?" Charlotte asked Thomas one morning when the bar seemed very empty even though it was well past opening time.

"We've closed for the day because management wants me to deal with an alleged rat problem," Thomas replied. "I don't know what they're talking about, though. I haven't seen anything. People always get so jumpy when they know the health inspector is coming."

"Oh," Charlotte scrunched up her nose and got as far away from the floor as possible, then let out a shriek that broke a couple of windows and brought the room temperature down a few degrees as she saw a rat scurry out from under the bar, which caused her to launch herself into Thomas' arms.

"I-I don't think you can say it's an _alleged_ problem anymore," she told him as she tried to control her breathing.

"How come I can hold you?" Thomas asked her, his blue eyes meeting hers. "Aren't you supposed to disappear or something if anyone touches you?"

"Not if you think I'm here, Thomas," she told him. "The more you believe in me, the more real I become. But don't get any ideas. I'm much too old for you anyway."

"Don't worry, ma'am," Thomas assured her. "I wouldn't overstep my boundaries that way."

"Good," Charlotte replied, then asked him to set her back down on the bar while he tried to kill the rat that was now scurrying around the barroom floor. Although the idea of him killing a rat disgusted her, the sight of him running around trying to catch it was comical and eventually she burst into laughter.

When the animal was finally caught and put outside because that was more humane, Thomas came to join her at the bar as her laughter subsided. "What's so funny?" He asked, his eyes sparkling.

"Just…watching you run is funny," She said. "Not really graceful, are you?"

"Not so much," he admitted, then turned on the radio as loud, cheerful pop echoed around the room. "Will you dance with me anyway? I promise I'm a better dancer than I am a runner."

"No, thank you," she told him. "I…I couldn't. I don't know how to dance to music like this at all."

"Well, let me show you, then," he told her, grabbing a mop and pretending to dance with it. "See? It's not so hard."

"Still," Charlotte told him, "I'd rather watch you dance than do it myself. It's _so_ much more entertaining."

"Okay, I get it," he told her. "I won't ask you anymore."

"If you would like to do something for me," she told him to ease his crestfallen look, "maybe…maybe you could get me a drink?"

"All right," he nodded, perking up a little. "What would you like? I just might join you."

"Two glasses of wine?" She put forward as she turned to look underneath the bar. "Do we have that? White, please. Not red."

"Yes we do," he said, getting out some white wine and pouring it in two glasses. "To friendship?"

"All right," Charlotte nodded and clinked his glass. "To friendship."

 **The End**

 **Next up: Damon and Lucy cope with Charlotte and Thomas while Selina and Elijah cope with Damon, and Thomas also learns secrets about his past he never knew that also shake Selina to the core when** _ **she**_ **hears about them in the upcoming sequel, A Chance For Happily Ever After.**


End file.
